Turkish police on Friday detained Beyoğlu Mayor İnan Güney and 43 others in a sweeping operation targeting opposition-run institutions in İstanbul, marking the latest escalation in a yearlong crackdown on the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The raids, carried out at dawn across the city, also led to the arrests of Güney’s private secretary, bodyguard, and senior municipal staff, along with employees from the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s (İBB) affiliated companies Medya A.Ş. and Kültür A.Ş. Among those taken into custody was Yiğit Oğuz Duman, a senior adviser to the mayor’s office since 2019.
Beyoğlu, home to İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square, is one of İstanbul’s most politically and culturally symbolic districts. Güney, elected in the March 31, 2024 local elections, ended two decades of Justice and Development Party (AKP) control in the district.
According to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the detainees are accused of links to Murat Ongun, a senior adviser to jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and media consultant Emrah Bağdatlı, who remains at large. The charges include running a criminal organization for profit, bribery, fraud, and unlawful access to personal data. Prosecutors allege the suspects orchestrated schemes targeting public institutions through various İBB entities.
Police also searched Beyoğlu Municipality headquarters, seizing digital materials.
Before his detention, Güney posted a photo with his family on X, writing: “Becoming mayor of Beyoğlu, where my father once worked as a laborer, has been the greatest honor of my life. … You know the reason for my detention is vile slander.”
Political Condemnation
CHP leader Özgür Özel described the arrests as “a political operation orchestrated by the ruling party,” saying: “Even if you carry out 99 series [of operations], you won’t succeed. They trust in their prosecutors and gangs; I trust the people.”
CHP deputy chairs Burhanettin Bulut and Ulaş Karasu condemned the raids as part of a politically motivated trial, while İstanbul provincial chair Özgür Çelik called them “the actions of a government that knows it can no longer win democratically.”
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) also criticized the detentions. Co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan said the arrests “disregard the democratic will,” and co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları warned that such actions “threaten democratic values and societal peace.”
Ninth Operation Since 2024 Elections
Friday’s raids mark the ninth wave of operations against the CHP and its affiliated institutions since the party’s sweeping municipal election victory last year. İmamoğlu, viewed as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival, has been jailed since March on corruption charges he denies, calling the case a transparent attempt to block his candidacy in the next presidential race.
