Four released amid ‘sex scandal’ at AKP branch in northwestern Turkey

KOCAELİ

Four suspects have been released over an alleged sex scandal at a local branch of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in northwestern province of Kocaeli’s Gebze district.

Photos showing a half-naked woman inside a meeting room of the AKP’s Gebze branch had stirred debate after they circulated on social media.

Four suspects, identified only by the initials B.K., S.M., H.T. and D.A., were detained by police and released on Aug. 18 after testifying at court.

A local newspaper had reported that one of the AKP youth wing heads allegedly had sexual intercourse with a woman and took pictures of her inside the branch building.

Gebze Mayor Adnan Köşer, himself from the AKP, has dismissed claims of a scandal, claiming the controversy is a plot aimed at slandering the party.