Istanbul (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A Turkish prosecutor has ordered the detention of 48 suspects, including the mayor of Istanbul’s Bayrampasa district, which is run by the opposition, as part of a corruption investigation, state broadcaster TRT Haber reported.
As reported, the Police carried out early morning raids at 72 locations and collected documents and suspects on charges of theft, bribery, and tender rigging. Turkey‘s main opposition party, CHP, has seen hundreds of its members arrested in a nearly year-long legal onslaught.
Is the crackdown aimed at weakening the main opposition party?
These detentions come amid a near year-long crackdown on the CHP and municipalities run by the CHP, which has seen hundreds of party members arrested and imprisoned. Following investigations, Turkey has made more than 500 detentions, including 16 mayors, in Istanbul and other municipalities run by the CHP over the past year.
Moreover, a court ruling on Monday could oust the leader of the CHP in a case widely viewed as a test of the country’s delicate balance between democratic institutions and centralised power, ramping up the legal pressure on the party.
How has the CHP responded to the corruption allegations?
CHP denies all corruption allegations and describes them as an attempt to remove a democratic choice for Turks. The party sees the accusations and legal actions, including the arrest of hundreds of its members and mayors, as part of a campaign by the government to weaken the main opposition before future elections.
How do officials defend the independence of Turkey’s judiciary?
Officials in Turkey state that the judiciary is independent and does not accept any accusations related to opposition figures on political grounds and that corruption probes are also subject to the same principles. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc noted that judicial independence and equality before the law are constitutionally established principles and called for respect for the legal process, and called allegations of political bias, misinformation.
