Istanbul’s 9 district municipalities face terror investigation

ISTANBUL

Ten senior officials, including deputy mayors, from nine district municipalities in Istanbul have been detained as part of a newly launched terrorism investigation.

The prosecutor’s office claimed that under the guise of the "urban consensus" formulated during the 2024 local elections, these nine municipalities engaged in staff appointments orchestrated under the directives of the PKK terrorist organization.

The "urban consensus" was publicly framed as a strategic electoral alliance between the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM Party) in certain constituencies for the March 31 elections last year.

The investigation has led to the detention of several municipal council members, including the deputy mayors of the Kartal and Ataşehir districts.

The operation, conducted in the early hours of the morning on Jan. 11, has also resulted in the apprehension of municipal council members from Üsküdar, Sancaktepe, Fatih, Tuzla, Adalar, Şişli and Beyoğlu.

Notably, all of these municipalities, except for Fatih, are governed by the CHP.

The prosecutor’s office contended that the theoretical framework of the "urban consensus" formula was devised by the terrorist organization's leadership, positioning it as a mechanism for implementing a "democratic autonomy" model.

According to the allegations, the strategy entailed securing control over local administrations in eastern provinces to establish an autonomous governance structure, while integrating the Kurdish population into municipal administrations in western cities through a similar system.

At this stage, no detention orders or summonses have been issued to the mayors of the implicated municipalities.

CHP-run municipalities have previously been subject to various legal proceedings.

Most recently, former Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was arrested last October on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organization."

Similarly, Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat was taken into custody on Jan. 17, facing allegations of bid-rigging and bribery.

Van mayor gets prison sentence

Meanwhile, a court has sentenced Van Mayor Abdullah Zeydan to three years and nine months in prison on terrorism-related charges.

Zeydan from the DEM Party had been on trial for allegedly "aiding a terrorist organization" and "engaging in terrorist propaganda through media channels." The case stemmed from his participation in an illegal demonstration and pro-PKK remarks.