Turkey Again Holds 7 Officials Of The Opposition City Erdogan

JAKARTA - Turkish authorities ordered the detention of seven officials from opposition-controlled cities in Istanbul. This action is part of an ongoing crackdown on the main party opposing President Tayyip Erdogan.

The detention follows the dismissal of Istanbul's chairman of the People's People's Party of the Republic (CHP) who was the main opposition, Ozgur Celik, by the court on Tuesday on suspicion of irregularities at the 2023 CHP provincial congress.

The court's ruling sparked a sharp decline in the market, with Turkey's shares closing down 3.57% on Tuesday after previously dropping more than 5%. Shares in the BIST 100 main index fell 1.8% at the opening on Wednesday, September 3.

Reported by Reuters, Turkish police detained five employees from Besiktas and two from Avcilar - two municipalities in Istanbul, the NTB lapr.

The CHP mayor in the districts is among 15 jailed mayors as part of a massive investigation into alleged corruption targeting the CHP-run municipality. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Immoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, has also been arrested in the operation.

The CHP denied the allegations.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, who called Tuesday's court ruling "completely illegal", will address a party rally in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul on Wednesday evening.

Istanbul 2023's CHP congressional decision could affect another court in the capital Ankara which is expected to decide in a separate case on September 15 which could overthrow Ozel from his post.

In the lawsuit, the court reviewed alleged procedural irregularities in the party's 38th Ordinary Congress in 2023.