Turkey Sentences 5 Opposition Mayors in Cases Critics Slam as Politically Motivated
The 200-defendant trial centered on allegations that municipal contracts were won through bribery, bid-rigging and fraud, prosecutors said.
- On Monday, a Turkish court convicted five mayors from the Republican People's Party, or CHP, on corruption charges, concluding a seven-month trial involving 200 defendants at a courthouse next to Silivri Prison.
- The case focused on allegations that businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktas secured municipal tenders through bribery and bid-rigging; Aktas later testified against co-defendants under Turkey's "effective repentance" law.
- Riza Akpolat, the mayor of the Besiktas district, received a 23-year, three-month sentence for bribery and money laundering, while the four other convicted mayors received sentences between five and eight years.
- Critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the trial as politically motivated, alleging the prosecution relied on secret witnesses, though the Turkish government insists the judiciary remains independent.
- This conviction follows an array of legal cases brought against the opposition since the 2024 municipal polls; meanwhile, Ekrem Imamoglu, the metropolitan mayor of Istanbul, has been behind bars since March of last year.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Again and again there are arrests of opposition politicians in Turkey. Now a major trial ends, in which former mayors were also on trial. They are sentenced to imprisonment.
In a much respected corruption case in Turkey, six former mayors of the opposition have been sentenced to sometimes long prison terms.
The trial was followed closely in Turkey, also against the backdrop of a wave of arrests against opposition mayors and the arrest of former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Associated Press News
Turkey sentences 5 opposition mayors in cases critics slam as politically motivated
A Turkish court has convicted five opposition mayors on corruption charges in a trial that critics have denounced as politically motivated.
A Turkish court has imposed prison sentences on six opposition politicians – 23 years in one case. They are accused of corruption, while supporters regard the proceedings as politically motivated.
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