An Istanbul district mayor from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was detained early on Tuesday as part of an investigation into alleged tender rigging.
An Istanbul prosecutor ordered the detention of Beykoz Deputy Mayor Fidan Gül over the alleged collusion, as well as for “establishing, joining and aiding an organization with criminal intent,” media reports said.
Gül’s detention is part of a probe in which 12 suspects, including Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler, were arrested last month on the same charges.
The deputy mayor is accused of rigging certain tenders to purchase goods within the Beykoz Municipality’s Social Assistance Services Directorate.
Police detained Gül and searched the municipal premises and her home.
Authorities also found Gül had received a promotion while working at another district municipality, Beylikdüzü, on the European side of Istanbul, when Istanbul’s now ousted and arrested mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was in charge there between 2014 and 2019.
Under Imamoğlu, Gül served as a day care principal at the Beylikdüzü municipality’s Culture and Sports Directorate before being assigned as the director of social assistance services in Beykoz in June 2024, barely months after Imamoğlu was reelected mayor of Istanbul in local elections.
Gül’s assignment while she was on trial at the Büyükçekmece courthouse on charges of tender rigging had sparked backlash across Beykoz. In spite of this, now suspended Beykoz Mayor Köseler named Gül deputy mayor and kept her status as director of social assistance services in October 2024.
Gül’s detention is the latest in a string of investigations involving CHP mayors in recent months, including Istanbul’s Esenyurt district mayor convicted for his connection to the PKK terrorist group and Beşiktaş district mayor arrested over rigging allegations that involved his office and companies run by his municipality.
The CHP has denied the charges against its members, insisting the investigations were meant to “silence” the opposition.
The government dismisses the accusations and says the judiciary is independent.
Imamoğlu himself was arrested late last month, facing charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group.
Prosecutors say Imamoğlu was among the leaders of a criminal network apparently enriching themselves through bribes and rigged public tenders. He and 99 others are also accused of illegally obtaining personal data.
A separate probe accuses him and several other officials of helping the PKK terrorist group by recruiting its sympathizers.
A third ongoing court case accuses Imamoğlu of using his influence as a mayor to exert pressure on judiciary organs and members in a bid to win favors in lawsuits involving his party by threatening a public prosecutor.
The 53-year-old opposition politician faces five separate court cases – four of which could result in a political ban.
In 2022, Imamoğlu received a political ban for insulting public officials, but the verdict is under appeal.
An Istanbul court on Monday rejected a plea for his release.
