Istanbul
AP
–
Turkish authorities on Saturday escalated the crackdown on opposition-run Istanbul municipality on suspicion of corruption and detained 30 people.
Holdings include the People’s Party, a major opposition Republican Party, or former CHP lawmakers, and mayors of three CHP-run districts in Istanbul.
The state-run Anadoru agency reported that the detention was part of four separate corruption investigations, including the Istanbul metropolitan municipality.
Saturday’s detention is the fifth wave of legal crackdown on the Istanbul regime since March 19, when Mayor Ekrem Imamoguru was arrested on corruption charges.
Imamogul’s arrest is considered the most viable challenger to President Recept Tayp Erdogan’s 22-year rule, sparking widespread demonstrations calling for his release to end Turkey’s democratic reversal under Erdogan.
Opposition parties and their supporters have argued for his arrest, and the subsequent arrests of dozens of more have been politically motivated by the CHP.
“This time the coup didn’t come with boots or tanks, but it did have the prosecutor’s robe,” CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel told a crowd of supporters in the northwestern city of Duzce on Saturday.
However, the government argues that Turkish judiciary is independent and has no political influence.
The second crackdown on local and districts operated by CHP occurred in late April, with the third and fourth waves in late May, resulting in dozens of detention.
