Turkey Nine Turkish opposition members arrested on terror charges
Turkish police have arrested nine local politicians from the largest opposition party CHP in the metropolis of Istanbul on terrorism charges.
11.02.2025, 15:09
11.02.2025, 15:10
SDA
These are two deputy district mayors and seven local council members, Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu wrote on the X platform.
In recent weeks, the Turkish police have taken action against numerous opposition politicians. The CHP condemns the actions as politically motivated. The government, on the other hand, always emphasizes that the judiciary is independent.
The state news agency Anadolu, citing the Istanbul public prosecutor's office, wrote that the suspects had been infiltrated into the communities on the instructions of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Increasing reprisals against the opposition
Mayor Imamoglu condemned the action against his party members as politically motivated. After the local elections in March, in which the CHP achieved a surprising success, these people were "suddenly declared 'terrorists' for some reason", said Imamoglu.
The popular mayor is seen as a possible challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a future presidential election. Several proceedings are also underway against Imamoglu himself, and he is threatened with a ban on political activity.
According to Anadolu, the mayor of Van, Abdullah Zeydan, was also sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for membership of a terrorist organization on Tuesday. Zeydan is a member of the pro-Kurdish opposition party Dem, which has come under increasing pressure since the local elections. Time and again, pro-Kurdish mayors have been removed from office due to accusations of terrorism.
Erdogan accuses the Dem of being the extended arm of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization. The Dem rejects the accusation.
