10 detained in opposition-run Adana Municipality over alleged bribery and bid-rigging
In an operation in the opposition-run Adana Metropolitan Municipality, Turkish police detained 10 people, including the mayor’s advisor, over alleged bribery and bid-rigging charges. Mayor Zeydan Karalar refused the allegations and said they conducted “nothing illegal.”
Duvar English
Turkish police on Dec. 18 detained 10 people in operation in the Adana Metropolitan Municipality over alleged bribery and bid-rigging charges.
Mayor Zeydan Karalar’s advisor Mürüvet S. was among those detained. The detainees were taken to the police station after health checks.
The police teams searched the municipality building during the operation.
Mayor Karalar, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, refused the allegations and said they conducted “nothing illegal.”
Karalar told Gazete Duvar that “Here in the Metropolitan Municipality, there has never been and will never be any illegal, unlawful or damaging work for the municipality. This happens 2-3 months before the (upcoming local) election. I've been mayor for 10 years.”
Karalar also said the CHP leader Özgür Özel told him “that he was with us, that he could come here if necessary. I told him that this was not a very important event, and that there was no need for him to come for this.”