Turkish authorities have launched another crackdown on the opposition. On Friday, police arrested the mayor of Beyoglu district in Istanbul, Inan Guney, along with 40 other officials as part of a corruption investigation.
According to Turkish media outlet Birgun, the arrests also included Guney’s bodyguards, advisor, and assistant. Guney was immediately taken into custody, while investigations are ongoing.
Guney is a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkey’s main opposition party, which has faced an unprecedented wave of arrests this year, particularly in municipalities it controls.
Earlier in March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu—CHP’s presidential candidate for the upcoming elections—was also arrested, sparking the largest protests in Turkey since 2013.
Reuters analysis reports that more than 500 people have been detained since last October as part of this extensive investigation campaign.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the operation targets “a corrupt network like an octopus whose tentacles extend across Turkey and beyond.”
Although presidential elections are scheduled for 2028, speculation suggests Erdogan may pursue an early reelection through a constitutional change allowing a third term. Critics, however, describe the arrests as politically motivated, aiming to remove Erdogan’s main rivals ahead of future elections.
The Turkish government maintains that the judiciary is independent and that political influence does not affect court decisions.
