Breaking News... Detained in a dawn raid: Statement from CHP leader Özgür Özel on Alaattin Köseler

The AKP government's investigations, operations, and detention practices targeting the opposition continue. Turkey woke up to news of another detention on the morning of Thursday, February 27.

CHP's Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler was detained at 04:00 in the morning and taken to the police station as part of an investigation into "rigging a tender."

Following CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel also reacted to Köseler being detained in a dawn raid.

In a post on his X account, Özel stated, "The detention of our Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler at the crack of dawn is nothing more than an attempt to clash with the nation's vote and the nation's choices through the judiciary, which you have turned into an instrument of revenge."

Özel noted the following in his statement:

"The operations launched against elected mayors following the March 31 local elections are the result of the panic of a political party that has fallen from the nation's favor and lost the local power it held for 20 years, knowing that they will also lose their 22-year central government in the first election.

The detention of our Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler at the crack of dawn is nothing more than an attempt to clash with the nation's vote and the nation's choices through the judiciary, which you have turned into an instrument of revenge.

Let everyone know;

The Palace regime may be trying to intimidate and cow everyone in the order of fear it has created, but we will not be intimidated, we will not be cowed.

Our party and all our members, drawing their strength from the will of our nation and the determination of our delegates at the Sivas Congress, which was our first Grand Assembly, will not bow to this order of fear or this Palace regime; we will work day and night until we bring freedom of expression, democracy, liberties, and justice for all 86 million of our citizens."