ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish authorities detained 157 people including opposition party members and a former mayor in Izmir early on Tuesday, broadcaster NTV reported, expanding a months-long legal
Turkish Authorities Detain 109 in Corruption Investigation in Izmir
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish authorities detained 109 people, including opposition party members and a former mayor, on Tuesday in Izmir, the Anadolu state news agency said, expanding a months-long legal crackdown on the opposition that had been focused on Istanbul.
The Izmir prosecutor ordered the detention of a total 157 people in the early morning hours as part of an investigation into corruption, tender rigging and fraud in the western coastal city, Anadolu reported. Police are continuing efforts to find the remaining 48 people, it added.
Murat Bakan, an Izmir lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) - which has faced waves of arrests since late last year - said former Izmir Mayor Tunc Soyer had been detained along with senior officials and a provincial chairman of the party.
"We woke up to another dawn operation today. We are facing a process similar to what happened in Istanbul," Bakan said on X, adding that the judicial system appeared to be "acting on instructions".
Those arrested in Turkey's broader crackdown include Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was jailed in March pending trial on corruption charges, which he denies. That sparked the largest street protests in a decade and a sharp selloff in Turkish assets.
The CHP denies the charges levelled against it. Along with some Western countries, the CHP and rights groups have called the crackdown a politicised move to eliminate electoral challenges to Erdogan and silence dissent.
The government denies these claims, saying Turkey's judiciary and courts are independent.
According to the prosecutor's statement published by Anadolu news, the investigation into Izmir municipality found that irregularities in tenders and expenses involving subcontractor companies had caused public loss.
(Reporting by Jonathan SpicerEditing by Himani Sarkar and Gareth Jones)
