 along with 12 other defendants who had been in pretrial detention on corruption charges.){kind=link}
A Turkish court has ordered the release pending trial of Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) along with 12 other defendants who had been in pretrial detention on corruption charges, the Anka news agency reported on Thursday.
The İstanbul Anadolu 17th High Criminal Court issued the ruling on the third day of hearings, citing the state of evidence and length of detention. Prosecutors had sought the release of seven defendants and the continued detention of five, but judges granted release to all 13.
Köseler was detained at 4:00 a.m. on February 27 in a raid carried out by the financial crimes unit of the İstanbul Police Department at his home in Beykoz.
On March 4 prosecutors requested the arrest of Köseler and 17 others on charges of bid rigging and forming a criminal organization. Thirteen were jailed pending trial, while five were released under judicial supervision. The Interior Ministry suspended Köseler from office immediately after his arrest.
An indictment later filed against 26 people, including Köseler, sought prison sentences ranging from 17 to 67 years for offenses including bid rigging, bribery, abuse of office, forming and leading a criminal organization and laundering illicit assets.
In the March 31, 2024, municipal elections, the CHP won 26 of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities, in addition to retaining control of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Köseler, 65, was elected mayor with 45.8 percent of the vote in Beykoz, defeating his closest rival from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The municipality was previously run by an AKP mayor.
The investigation into him focuses on irregularities in municipal tenders, particularly involving concerts held during Republic Day celebrations on October 29 of last year. Prosecutors claim that a criminal organization influenced the tender by bribing officials.
The mayor previously denied the allegations of irregularities in tenders in both his testimony to prosecutors and his defense before the court, arguing that he was being held responsible for matters beyond his jurisdiction as mayor.
The case comes amid a yearlong crackdown on the CHP. Since March 2024 more than 500 people linked to the party or the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality have been detained or arrested. At least 17 CHP mayors have been removed from office and replaced by government-appointed trustees.
Opposition leaders say the investigations are politically motivated and intended to weaken the party after its sweeping gains in the March 2024 local elections. International watchdogs and European lawmakers have also raised concerns about the erosion of democratic norms.
Earlier this week a separate İstanbul court dismissed the leadership of the CHP’s İstanbul provincial branch and appointed a caretaker board led by Gürsel Tekin, a longtime party figure who once served as general secretary under former party chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, adding to the party’s legal troubles.