Turkish police detained more than 120 current and former municipal officials in the western city of İzmir on Tuesday, including former mayor Tunc Soyer and several senior Republican People’s Party (CHP) figures, in what the opposition describes as a politically motivated crackdown.
The sweeping operation comes just months after a similar move in Istanbul on March 19, which saw the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the city’s popular mayor and leading political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Both cities have long been bastions of opposition to Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Local media reported that prosecutors issued 157 detention warrants as part of a broader investigation into alleged corruption in municipal contracts and services. However, CHP officials argue the timing and scope of the raids point to a deliberate effort to discredit and dismantle opposition strongholds ahead of a potential political reshuffling or snap elections.
“We are faced with a process similar to that in Istanbul,” CHP Deputy Chair Murat Bakan wrote on social media platform X. “These dawn detentions were not a legal necessity but a clear political choice.”
Bakan confirmed that Tunc Soyer, who served as İzmir’s mayor from 2019 until earlier this year, and Şenol Aslanoğlu, the party’s İzmir provincial chair, were among those detained. He said many of those targeted had already been under investigation and would have complied voluntarily if summoned.
“If they had been called to testify, they would have done so,” Bakan stated, criticizing the use of early-morning raids and mass detentions as tactics of intimidation.
İzmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, has been under CHP control for decades and is seen as a symbol of the party’s enduring urban influence. The detentions have triggered fresh concerns among opposition supporters and rights advocates, who warn of an escalating pattern of judicial weaponization against critics of the government.
The Interior Ministry has not yet issued an official statement on the operation.
CHP leaders are calling on the judiciary to uphold the rule of law and urging the international community to remain vigilant as pressure mounts on Turkey’s political opposition.
