Turkey arrests dozens including opposition party members

The arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, has triggered unrest in the region.

The operation is the fifth wave of arrests against the government’s political opponents, starting with the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, regarded as President Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival in March.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention orders for 47 people and detained 30. Others detained included local municipal mayors and Istanbul officials.

Turkish authorities have ordered the arrests of dozens of people facing corruption allegations, including opposition party members, in Istanbul and the city of Adana.

Imamoglu sent a letter from prison to an opposition rally on Saturday, saying: “It is time to say “enough is enough” to this unjust and unlawful order.”

“Now you are taking our district mayors with fictitious excuses. What will you do? Where will you stop? Are you going to throw 16 million Istanbulites in jail one by one?” he said in the letter.

Imamoglu is part of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), who have been leading in many polls against Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

He was jailed over charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group. He has denied all charges.

His arrest triggered mass protests and arrests across Turkey. The Istanbul prosecutor’s office has said 819 people arrested in protests will be tried in 20 criminal investigations.

Some 110 people were arrested in the first four waves of arrests under corruption allegations.

The fifth wave on Saturday consisted of four different operations in two cities. Municipal mayors, CHP party members and city officials were among those arrested.

CHP Party Assembly member Baki Aydöner wrote on X that he was in Ankara for a party meeting when his wife called and told him that the house was searched and there was a detention order against him. He said he was going to Istanbul.

The UN’s human rights office said in March it was “very concerned” at the mass arrests, with Amnesty International at the time calling the detentions “draconian actions”.

Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 47 city officials, district mayors and staff across İstanbul, whose mayor, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been jailed since March, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.

The warrants were based on “four separate corruption investigations centered on İstanbul,” Anadolu said, without revealing how many people were actually taken into custody.

İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in a decade.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at İstanbul City Hall, including İmamoğlu’s private secretary and his security officer.

The latest warrants targeted a former opposition lawmaker and five mayors of İstanbul districts, according to Anadolu.

Halk TV, which is close to the CHP, said nine district mayors — out of a total of 39 — had now been arrested and were being held in custody.

In response, the CHP’s İstanbul branch decided to call for an emergency meeting to address the increasing pressure on the party, though party leader Özgür Özel announced he would not cancel planned political rallies.

Critics say the detention warrants mark a continuing campaign to weaken opposition control in Turkey’s largest and most politically significant city.

The CHP had nominated İmamoğlu as its candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 2028.

Turkish authorities have launched a new wave of arrests targeting dozens of opposition figures, including mayors and party officials in Istanbul and Adana, in what critics say is a politically motivated campaign.

According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, arrest warrants were issued for 47 individuals, with at least 30 already detained. The latest operation marks the fifth round of detentions since March, when Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu—President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s most prominent political rival—was imprisoned.

Read more: Over 340 arrested in Istanbul clashes following Mayor’s detention

Local officials, particularly from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), have been the primary targets of these raids. Turkish officials maintain that the crackdown is rooted in legitimate corruption allegations and deny any political agenda, asserting that the judiciary remains independent.

In a letter sent from prison and read at an opposition rally on Saturday, Imamoglu condemned the ongoing arrests. “It is time to say ‘enough is enough’ to this unjust and unlawful order.” He added, “Now you are taking our district mayors with fictitious excuses. What will you do? Where will you stop? Are you going to throw 16 million Istanbulites in jail one by one?”

Imamoglu, a rising star within the CHP, has been accused of corruption and links to a terrorist organization—charges he denies. His imprisonment has sparked nationwide protests and further arrests, with the Istanbul prosecutor’s office reporting that 819 individuals detained during demonstrations are now facing trial in 20 separate cases.

The latest arrests involved four coordinated operations across Istanbul and Adana. Among those apprehended were municipal mayors, city officials, and members of the CHP. Baki Aydöner, a CHP Party Assembly member, shared on X that he was in Ankara when his wife informed him their home was being searched. Aydöner said he was traveling to Istanbul in response to a detention order issued against him.

The crackdown has drawn international condemnation. In March, the UN human rights office voiced deep concern over the mass detentions, while Amnesty International described the moves as “draconian actions” against dissent.

Turkey to fine airline passengers who stand up before plane stops

The Turkish civil aviation authority says it made the changes after receiving complaints from passengers

Airline passengers to Turkey will be fined if they stand up before the seatbelt sign turns off after landing, regulators have said.

The Turkish civil aviation authority said it imposed the order after receiving complaints from passengers. The rules came into effect earlier this month.

Turkish media said fines are around US$70 (£50), although no amount is mentioned in the authority’s guidance.

The authority warned that there was a “serious increase” in such incidents, with many complaints about passengers grabbing overhead baggage before their plane had been parked.

Translated by: Ideal Zhubi

31 May 2025 11:08

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Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of several opposition party members in Istanbul and carried out raids in opposition-led municipalities on Saturday as part of a widening legal crackdown against the city’s jailed mayor and his CHP political party, Reuters reports.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, was imprisoned in March on charges of corruption and links to the Kurdish terrorist group, the PKK.

Imamoglu’s arrest sparked nationwide protests, economic unrest, and widespread accusations of government capture of the justice system and authoritarian practices. The Turkish government has denied these accusations and reiterated that the judiciary is independent.

Since Imamoglu’s imprisonment, authorities have arrested dozens of members of his party, officials from the Istanbul Municipality, and other municipalities run by the main opposition CHP. Among other things, access to Imamoglu’s account on the social network X was blocked in Turkey this month.

On Saturday, the state-run Anadolu news agency and private broadcaster NTV reported that authorities had issued arrest warrants for 47 people in four separate investigations, with 4 of them already in custody.