ANKARA: Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained 13 people as part of a corruption investigation into concerts organized by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality — the latest legal action targeting municipalities run by Turkiye’s main opposition party.
A statement from the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the suspects, including former municipal employees and owners of private event companies, were taken into custody on charges of abuse of public office and rigging of public tenders.
The investigation centers on 32 concerts held between 2021 and 2024, which allegedly resulted in 154.4 million Turkish lira ($3.7 million) of financial losses, according to reports by the Interior Ministry, Turkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, and the Court of Accounts, the statement said.
Municipalities led by the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, have faced a series of corruption probes this year, including the most high-profile one of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Regarded as president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, Imamoglu was arrested and detained in March, triggering widespread protests.
The CHP has rejected the allegations, describing the legal actions as politically motivated efforts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ‘s government to undermine the opposition through judicial means.
The government insists that Turkiye’s judiciary operates independently, and that the investigations are solely focused on uncovering corruption.
The CHP achieved sweeping victories in last year’s local elections, holding onto major cities like Istanbul and Ankara, while also making significant advances in regions traditionally dominated by Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party.
Turkish authorities detain 13 in latest probe targeting opposition-run municipalities
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Turkish authorities detain 13 in latest probe targeting opposition-run municipalities
- Suspects were taken into custody on charges of abuse of public office and rigging of public tenders
- The investigation centers on 32 concerts held between 2021 and 2024
US lawmakers press Israel to probe strike on reporters in Lebanon
- “The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said
- Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured
WASHINGTON: Several Democratic lawmakers called Thursday for the Israeli and US governments to fully investigate a deadly 2023 attack by the Israeli military on journalists in southern Lebanon.
The October 13, 2023 airstrike killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded six other reporters, including two from AFP — video journalist Dylan Collins and photographer Christina Assi, who lost her leg.
“We expect the Israeli government to conduct an investigation that meets the international standards and to hold accountable those people who did this,” Senator Peter Welch told a news conference, with Collins by his side.
The lawmaker from Collins’s home state of Vermont said he had been pushing for answers for two years, first from the administration of Democratic president Joe Biden and now from the Republican White House of Donald Trump.
The Israeli government has “stonewalled at every single turn,” Welch added.
“With the Israeli government, we have been extremely patient, and we have done everything we reasonably can to obtain answers and accountability,” he said.
“The IDF has made no effort, none, to seriously investigate this incident,” Welch said, referring to the Israeli military, adding that it has told his office its investigation into the incident is closed.
Collins called for Washington to publicly acknowledge the attack in which an American citizen was injured.
“But I’d also like them to put pressure on their greatest ally in the Middle East, the Israeli government, to bring the perpetrators to account,” he said, echoing the lawmakers who called the attack a “war crime.”
“We’re not letting it go,” Vermont congresswoman Becca Balint said. “It doesn’t matter how long they stonewall us.”
AFP conducted an independent investigation which concluded that two Israeli 120mm tank shells were fired from the Jordeikh area in Israel.
The findings were corroborated by other international probes, including investigations conducted by Reuters, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders.
Unlike Welch’s assertion Thursday that the Israeli probe was over, the IDF told AFP in October that “findings regarding the event have not yet been concluded.”
