Turkish police on Tuesday detained 25 people, including two deputy mayors of an opposition-run municipality in Ankara, in a corruption investigation that led to the jailing of its actor-turned-mayor, Erdal Beşikçioğlu, in August, the BirGün daily reported.
The raids targeted Etimesgut, a district in western Ankara governed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Deputy mayors Fikret Gözüoğlu and Gültekin Bayındır were among those detained in simultaneous operations across five provinces. All 25 suspects sought by prosecutors were taken into custody.
The Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the suspects face allegations of forming, leading or belonging to a criminal organization, embezzlement, bribery, extortion by public officials, bid-rigging and misconduct in carrying out public contracts.
A court jailed Beşikçioğlu and 39 others pending trial on August 3, following raids on July 30 that resulted in the detention of 55 people. The Interior Ministry suspended him from office the same day.
The investigation concerns alleged irregularities and forged documents in municipal tenders as well as improper benefits connected to parking lot leases and zoning and construction permits.
Beşikçioğlu denied any wrongdoing, saying some of the irregularities cited in Court of Accounts reports had been uncovered through an internal audit he ordered.
He also denied personal or commercial ties to the companies under investigation and said municipal tenders were outside his direct authority.
An award-winning actor known for playing a homicide detective in the television series “Behzat Ç.,” Beşikçioğlu was elected mayor in 2024.
The municipality remains under CHP control. Following Beşikçioğlu’s suspension, CHP candidate Seda Dilber was elected acting mayor on August 10 with support from city council members from the ruling People’s Alliance, defeating the New Party’s Mehmet Özdemir.
The New Party was formed in July by former CHP leader Özgür Özel and lawmakers who broke away from the party after a court removed him as chairman.
The latest detentions come amid a series of investigations into CHP-run municipalities following the party’s victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March 2024 local elections.
The opposition says the cases are intended to weaken Erdoğan’s rivals and reverse its electoral gains. The government denies political interference and claims the judiciary operates independently.
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