Turkish police detain actor-turned-mayor Erdal Besikcioglu in latest raids targeting opposition

ISTANBUL (AP) — Police detained a former TV actor-turned-mayor on Thursday in the latest wave of arrests targeting the opposition.

Erdal Besikcioglu, the mayor of Etimesgut Municipality in western Ankara, is being investigated for allegations of irregularities and forgery in municipal tenders, the Justice Ministry said in a statement. Investigators are also examining parking lot leasing schemes and construction zoning permissions.

Besikcioglu played grizzled detective Behzat C in a popular police drama of the same name that ran from 2010 to 2019. He was elected mayor in 2024 with the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, in an election where the opposition strengthened its grip on major cities, including Ankara and Istanbul.

Hundreds of elected mayors and other officials have been arrested in the past two years as part of criminal investigations, mostly into alleged corruption, in operations targeting opposition-run municipalities.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul widely considered the strongest potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has also been arrested and imprisoned since March last year. He faces criminal cases that could result in decades-long sentences.

Erdogan’s government insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Some 42 municipal officials and 13 company representatives were targeted in Thursday’s dawn raids across nine provinces overseen by the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Justice Ministry said. Three deputy mayors were also arrested.

The suspects are being held on charges of establishing and running a criminal organization; membership in a criminal organization; embezzlement; bribery; extortion; and tender-rigging.

Police detained 52 suspects and conducted searches at 71 locations, including homes and offices. Documents and digital materials were seized during the raids, the ministry’s statement added.

In May, the leadership of the CHP was removed by court order, prompting the formation of the New Party by deposed party head Ozgur Ozel last Friday. Ninety CHP legislators quit the CHP for the New Party, making it the largest opposition group in parliament.

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