A Turkish prosecutor has ordered the detention of 48 suspects, including the mayor of the opposition-run Bayrampasa district of Istanbul, as part of a corruption investigation, Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Monday, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Police conducted early morning searches at 72 locations to seize documents and detain suspects on charges including embezzlement, bribery and bid rigging, according to Turkish media.
In an op-ed in the Turkish newspaper, former Bayrampasa mayor Hasan Mutlu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said he had nothing to hide and called the investigation a "political operation based on baseless allegations." slander“.
The arrests come amid a nearly year-long crackdown on the PDP and its municipalities, in which hundreds of party members have been arrested and jailed, Reuters recalls. A court ruling expected on Monday could remove the PDP leader in a case seen as a test of the country's fragile balance between democratic institutions and centralized power, increasing legal pressure on the party.