Beşiktaş mayor dismissed from post by interior ministry

ISTANBUL

Istanbul’s Beşiktaş mayor Murat Hazinedar, opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) district mayor and two municipal council members were dismissed from their duties on Jan. 4 by the Turkish Interior Ministry.

The interior ministry released a statement about the decision for the dismissals, saying Hazinedar and two municipal council members, Avni Sipahi and Çetin Kırışgil were dismissed as part of the investigation.

The interior ministry said in a statement that Hazinedar was dismissed due to investigations that had been conducted into a property holding, for being a member of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ)/Parallel State Structure (PDY), providing unlawful licenses to tradesmen, the use of public property for private individuals and for taking unfair advantages.

"This is a plot on the part of the government," said CHP spokesperson Bülent Tezcan at a televised briefing in Ankara.

"He has been dismissed unjustly. There is no fairness. There is no justice.This is a usurpation of the national will," he added.

Located in central Istanbul, Beşiktaş is one of the top districts for real estate prices, with several neighborhoods by the Bosphorus and a business center in the metropol. 

On Dec. 8, 2017, Battal İlgezdi, the mayor of Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, was dismissed by the interior ministry over corruption allegations, prompting fury within the CHP (Republican People’s Party).

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu slammed the suspension of a CHP Istanbul district mayor, saying the move had amounted to an “assassination of character.”