Authorities in Turkey have detained İlkay Çiçek, the mayor of Menderes district in Izmir, as part of a corruption investigation involving 16 suspects. Çiçek and 12 others were taken into custody in the Greater Izmir area, while police continue to search for three remaining suspects, according to the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
The suspects face allegations including bribery, forgery of official documents, abuse of office, and forming a criminal organization. Çiçek, a member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was first elected mayor in the 2024 local elections with 46 percent of the vote.
The arrests come amid a broader crackdown on opposition figures in Izmir. Several other CHP mayors in the province — including those of Seferihisar, Buca, and Güzelbahçe — are already in pre-trial detention, along with former Izmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer. In late May, a court removed Özgür Özel as chairman of the CHP.