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
https://arab.news/basv5
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
Western Libya forces kill notorious migrant smuggler, security agency says
- The Security Threats Combating Agency raided the group’s hideout in response to the attack and killed its leader, Ahmed Al-Dabbashi
- Dabbashi had been under US sanctions since 2018
BENGHAZI: Western Libyan security forces said on Friday they had killed a notorious migrant smuggler in the coastal city of Sabratha after “criminal gangs” affiliated with him attacked one of their checkpoints overnight.
The Security Threats Combating Agency, a security agency under western Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, said they raided the group’s hideout in response to the attack and killed its leader, Ahmed Al-Dabbashi, also known as “Al-Amu.”
Dabbashi’s brother was arrested and six members of the force were wounded in the fighting, the agency said in the statement on its Facebook page.
Dabbashi had been under US sanctions since 2018. Washington described him as the “leader of one of two powerful migrant smuggling organizations” based in Sabratha and said he had “used his organization to rob and enslave migrants before allowing them to leave for Italy.”
Human trafficking is rife in Libya, which has been divided between rival armed factions since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The proliferation of smuggling gangs and the absence of a strong central authority have made the country one of the main staging points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021, but significant parts of western Libya remain outside his control. Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity, or GNU, is not recognized by rival authorities in the east.
An armed alliance affiliated with an earlier UN-backed government in Tripoli – the Government of National Accord – had taken on Dabbashi’s forces in a three-week battle in 2017 that killed and wounded dozens and damaged residential areas and Sabratha’s Roman ruins.
