ISTANBUL – In the newest round of law enforcement operations targeting Turkey’s main opposition bloc, law enforcement officials have taken into custody Erdal Besikcioglu, a former popular television actor who now serves as mayor of the Ankara district Etimesgut, the country’s Justice Ministry confirmed Thursday. The detention is part of a broader sweep that unfolded across nine Turkish provinces early Thursday, coordinated by the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Altogether, 52 suspects, including 42 sitting municipal officials and 13 private sector representatives, were targeted in pre-dawn raids that searched 71 locations spanning homes and public offices. Investigators seized physical documents and digital evidence during the operations, and three deputy mayors were among those taken into custody alongside Besikcioglu.
Besikcioglu, who was elected to the Etimesgut mayoral post earlier this year as a candidate for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), faces a series of allegations tied to municipal governance: investigators are probing claims of financial irregularities and document forgery linked to public tender processes, alongside questionable practices in parking lot leasing agreements and construction zoning approvals. All suspects in the operation face formal charges including establishing and operating a criminal network, illicit criminal group membership, embezzlement, bribery, extortion, and bid-rigging for public contracts.
Prior to his entry into Turkish politics, Besikcioglu was a household name across the country, best known for his lead role as gruff detective Behzat Ç in the long-running hit police drama *Behzat Ç*, which aired from 2010 to 2019. His 2024 election win came as the opposition made significant gains across Turkey’s key urban centers, solidifying control of both the capital Ankara and the country’s largest city Istanbul.
This latest detention is part of a years-long pattern of arrests targeting opposition-held local governments. Over the past two years, hundreds of elected mayors and municipal officials have been taken into custody as part of criminal investigations, almost all centered on allegations of public corruption. The highest-profile case to date remains that of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely viewed as the most formidable potential challenger to long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu has been held in prison since March 2024, and the multiple criminal cases against him carry the possibility of cumulative multi-decade prison sentences.
the operation comes amid major upheaval for Turkey’s opposition, just weeks after a court ordered the removal of the CHP’s national leadership. Last Friday, the ousted CHP leader Ozgur Ozel launched a new breakaway political faction, the New Party, which has already drawn 90 defecting CHP members of parliament. This shift makes the New Party the largest opposition bloc in Turkey’s national legislature.
Erdogan’s administration has repeatedly pushed back against claims that the investigations and arrests are politically motivated, insisting that Turkey’s judicial system operates as an impartial body free from political interference.