Turkey Arrests 7 City Officials In Istanbul Opposition Erdogan, Turkish Stock Index Collapses

Illustration of police carrying out security. (Unsplash-Paul Macallan)

JAKARTA - The Turkish police made arrests of seven municipality officials in Istanbul today, Wednesday, September 3.

Based on the NTV broadcaster's report quoted from AFP, the police detained five officials from Besiktas and two from Avcilar, two municipalities in Istanbul.

The detention follows a court that ruled to fire Ozgur Celik, the chairman of Istanbul Province of the People's Party of the Republic (CHP) who is the main opposition to the Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday.

Ozgur Celik was fired on suspicion of irregularities in the 2023 CHP Provincial Congress.

The court's decision triggered the drop in the Turkish stock price index. Tukri's stock index collapsed by 3.57 percent on Tuesday, after previously falling drastically by more than 5 percent.

At the opening today, shares in Turkey's main index, BIST 100 fell 1.8 percent.

A number of mayors detained were also part of a broad investigation into allegations of corruption targeting the CHP-controlled municipality.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Immoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, has also been arrested during the prosecution operation.

The CHP denied the allegations.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called Tuesday's court ruling "completely illegal." He plans to respond to the speech at a party rally in the Zeytinburnu district, Istanbul, Wednesday evening.