Turkish authorities order new detentions of opposition officials

ISTANBUL (AFP) : Turkish authorities ordered the detention of seven officials from opposition-run municipalities in Istanbul on Wednesday, broadcaster NTV said, as part of an ongoing crackdown against the main party opposing President Tayyip Erdogan.

The detentions follow the removal of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Istanbul provincial head Ozgur Celik by a court on Tuesday over alleged irregularities in a 2023 CHP provincial congress.

That court ruling triggered sharp drops in markets, with Turkish stocks closing down 3.57 percent on Tuesday after earlier plunging more than 5 percent. Shares in the main BIST 100 were down 1.8 percent at Wednesday’s opening.

Turkish police detained five employees from Besiktas and two from Avcilar — two Istanbul municipalities — on Wednesday, NTV reported.

The CHP mayors of those districts are among 15 mayors jailed as part of a sprawling investigation into alleged corruption targeting CHP-run municipalities. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, has also been arrested under the crackdown.

The CHP denies the accusations.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, who called Tuesday’s court ruling “completely illegal,” will address a party rally in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district on Wednesday evening.

The ruling on the CHP’s 2023 Istanbul congress could sway another court in the capital Ankara that is expected to rule in a separate case on September 15 that could oust Ozel from his position.

In that lawsuit, the court has been reviewing alleged procedural irregularities in the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress in 2023.