Alaattin Köseler, mayor of Istanbul’s Beykoz district from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was remanded in custody late last night.

The CHP mayor was among the 18 people taken into custody on February 27. The detainees were accused of “bid rigging” in the scope of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

CHP leader Özgür Özel described the investigation as politically motivated, saying, “The arrest of Köseler after four days in custody has once again shown that the government intends to murder justice.”

For months, the Turkish government has been increasingly cracking down on the opposition. Several mayors from the CHP and DEM Party have been dismissed and replaced by trustees, some of whom have since been imprisoned.  Most recently, Rıza Akpolat, the CHP district mayor of the Istanbul district of Beşiktaş, was arrested in mid-January, also on bribery charges.

Since the local elections in March 2024, twelve municipalities, some of which were won by a landslide by the opposition, have been usurped by the government through appointed trustees. The municipalities in question include Kağızman, Van, Siirt, Akdeniz, Bahçesaray, Hakkari, Batman, Mardin, Halfeti, Dersim, Ovacık and Esenyurt. Most of the usurped municipalities had been ruled by the DEM Party until the mayors were removed from office.