A Turkish court has ordered Milas Mayor Fevzi Topuz and his son jailed pending trial in a corruption investigation, extending a crackdown on opposition-run municipalities, Turkish media reported on Saturday.
Topuz belongs to the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and governs Milas, a district in the southwestern province of Muğla.
He and his son, Doruk Topuz, were among 18 people jailed in the investigation, while two suspects were put under house arrest and 15 were released under judicial supervision.
Police detained Topuz on October 20 during raids across 13 provinces after prosecutors issued detention warrants for 35 people.
The investigation concerns allegations of bribery, bid rigging, forgery, fraud and involvement in a criminal organization.
Prosecutors allege that the municipality approved certificates falsely showing that companies had completed construction projects, allowing the businesses to use those credentials to qualify for public contracts.
Topuz, a former lawmaker, won the mayor’s office in the March 2024 local elections, when the CHP defeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) nationwide and retained control of İstanbul and Ankara.
Since those elections, opposition municipalities have faced investigations that have led to the imprisonment and suspension of elected mayors, with government-appointed trustees taking over some local administrations.
A tally published earlier this month put the number of mayors elected from the CHP who had been arrested since the elections at 40, counting some who were subsequently released.
The crackdown intensified after İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a political rival of Erdoğan, was jailed pending trial in March 2025.
Opposition parties accuse the government of using criminal investigations to reverse their gains at the ballot box.
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