ISTANBUL: A Turkish prosecutor ordered the detention of 48 suspects, including the mayor of Istanbul’s opposition-run Bayrampasa district, as part of a corruption investigation, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Saturday.
The police carried out early morning raids at 72 locations to seize documents and detain suspects on charges including embezzlement, bribery, and tender rigging, according to TRT Haber.
In a post on X, Bayrampasa Mayor Hasan Mutlu, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said he had nothing to hide and called the investigation “a political operation based on unfounded slander.”
The detentions come amidst a nearly year-long crackdown on the CHP and CHP-run municipalities, in which hundreds of party members have been arrested and jailed.
A court ruling due on Monday could remove the leader of the CHP in a case widely seen as a test of the country’s fragile balance between democratic institutions and centralized power, increasing the legal pressure on the party.
Turkiye orders detention of Istanbul district mayor, others in corruption probe, state media says
https://arab.news/rem77
Turkiye orders detention of Istanbul district mayor, others in corruption probe, state media says
Charlie Kirk murder suspect appears in US court
LOS ANGELES: The man accused of killing right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk appeared in person in a US court for the first time on Thursday.
Tyler Robinson looked on calmly as lawyers discussed procedural issues surrounding what is expected to be one of the most keenly watched trials in modern America.
The clean-shaven 22-year-old wore a light shirt and a tie in the Utah court. The judge ruled at an earlier hearing that he did not have to appear in court in prison garb.
Kirk was shot dead on a Utah college campus in September, sparking a wave of grief among conservatives, and threats of a clampdown on the “radical left” from President Donald Trump.
Following a massive manhunt, Robinson was arrested the day after the September 10 killing when his family persuaded him to hand himself in because they had recognized him in photographs issued by investigators.
He faces the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.
Authorities say Robinson shot Kirk from a rooftop across the campus of Utah Valley University because of the influential activist’s views.
They have cited text message exchanges between Robinson and his roommate, whom they described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”
In one part of the exchange, the roommate, who was not named, asked Robinson why he had killed Kirk.
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson is alleged to have written. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.
In the wake of the murder, a number of people lost their jobs after criticism from conservatives over what they posted online or said publicly about Kirk.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show on the ABC network following government pressure after he said Trump’s MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the killing.
