The arrest and public handcuffing of five mayors from Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), alongside dozens of municipal employees and officials, evokes memories of the 2009 crackdown on Kurdish politicians and raises concerns over judicial impartiality.
A video released by pro-government media on Tuesday showed the detainees, including district mayors and senior staff from Istanbul and Adana, being led in handcuffs into the Istanbul courthouse. The footage has been widely criticised for framing the individuals as guilty before trial, and for being political staging.
The arrests come as part of an ongoing corruption investigation into the CHP-led Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Among those detained are the mayors of Avcılar, Gaziosmanpaşa and Büyükçekmece in İstanbul, and Seyhan and Çukurova in Adana.
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Footage circulating on social media shows detainees with their hands cuffed and lined up, surrounded by heavily armed police officers. Critics have described these scenes as degrading and drawn strong parallels with the 2009 operations targeting the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), during which hundreds of Kurdish politicians were imprisoned on terrorism charges.
According to AFP sources, those detained face allegations of bid rigging and bribery in municipal tenders. The authorities deny any political motive, insisting that the arrests are part of a legal investigation.
Statements by CHP officials reflect broader concerns about the political motivations behind the arrests and public display of detainees. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel compared the images to propaganda footage from the aftermath of Turkey’s 1960 military coup, when the overthrown ruling party was paraded like criminals during the infamous coup trials. “We have seen this scene before,” said Özgür Özel at a parliamentary group meeting, recalling how the ousted president Celal Bayar had attempted suicide after being publicly humiliated. CHP Deputy Chair Burhanettin Bulut described the scenes as “a blatant violation of the presumption of innocence”, adding: “This is enemy law, not justice.” CHP lawmaker Mahmut Tanal said that the footage violated both the constitutionally protected right to a fair trial and the confidentiality provisions of the penal code. CHP Group Deputy Chair Murat Emir asked, “Which mafia leaders have you filmed and published like this?”
The crackdown of 2009 resulted in the forced closure of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Legal experts have highlighted similarities between the current cases and the 2009 crackdown, including sweeping indictments, vague charges and public shaming.
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In a social media post, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP Tülay Hatimoğulları wrote: “The operations centred in Istanbul and Adana targeting elected CHP officials are further undermining faith in the Turkish justice system. The images showing the transfer of detainees from custody to court, and the manner in which these images were disseminated, constitute nothing more than cheap political propaganda. Years ago, we witnessed similar footage and propaganda efforts during the 12 September trials and the operations conducted under the name of KCK. We all experienced the damage that these practices inflicted on social peace. Such political operations and propaganda attempts seriously undermine Turkey’s pursuit of peace, democracy and the rule of law. These practices must be abandoned immediately, and the pressure of the judiciary on politics must end.”
DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan echoed similar concerns, stating: “The ongoing political operations targeting elected CHP officials are exacerbating Turkey’s internal divisions and increasing polarisation, causing great harm to any shared vision for the future. The release of footages of the officials walking down a line, in a manner reminiscent of the 12 September trials and the KCK political genocide operations, is a sign of political weakness and lawlessness. We will continue to stand against injustice and unlawfulness, no matter who is targeted. Our political history is a history of standing against injustice. Being on the right side of history is not about siding with one party or another. It is about taking an uncompromising stance for law, democracy and peace. Our place is with peace, democracy and the rule of law. The politicisation of the judiciary poses a significant threat to this country. It must be abandoned. The use of the judicial system to target politics must come to an end.
Publicly displaying detainees reinforces the presumption of guilt and recalls previous political crackdowns. These developments raise growing concerns over a pattern of repression that extends beyond Kurdish politics to encompass broader opposition figures. The timing and visibility of the arrests, particularly the orchestrated handcuffing of elected officials in front of cameras, suggest a deliberate strategy to intimidate and discredit opposition municipalities.
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