Interior Ministry announces: CHP mayor suspended from office

The Ministry of Interior has announced that CHP's Adana Yüreğir Mayor Ali Demirçalı, who was sentenced to prison for the crime of 'bribery,' has been temporarily suspended from his duties.

The written statement issued by the Ministry of Interior included the following:

“Following the investigation conducted into Yüreğir Mayor Demirçalı regarding the crime of 'bribery,' and upon the decision of the Adana 10th High Criminal Court dated April 3, 2026, with case number E:2024/17, sentencing him to 5 years, 3 months, and 10 days in prison, he has been suspended from office as a temporary measure by the Ministry of Interior in accordance with Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipal Law No. 5393.”

The verdict in the case where Ali Demirçalı was tried on allegations of "giving bribes" in connection with occupancy permits and licensing procedures for a construction company he owns was announced on April 3, 2026. The Adana 10th High Criminal Court sentenced Demirçalı to 5 years, 3 months, and 10 days in prison and imposed a travel ban.

STATEMENT FROM HIS LAWYER

Speaking to the ANKA News Agency following the verdict, Demirçalı's lawyer, Vedat Özkan, described the ruling as "unjust and unlawful." Özkan stated that the court accelerated the process because he is a mayor and handed down the sentence in this manner.

REACTION FROM DEMİRÇALI

Mayor Ali Demirçalı reacted to the decision as follows:

“This decision is absolutely not fair, nor is it legal,” he said. Stating that all of his lawyers' requests were rejected by the court, Demirçalı added, “Even though I have a lot of documents and information in my possession, they wanted to give a sentence in some way by accelerating it, and they gave that sentence. Bribery is not committed just because a slanderer says, ‘I heard it, let it be investigated.’ I have been a builder for 40 years. No contractor... And there are elections in between. One does not give a bribe for a job from 3 years and 10 months ago. It cannot be like this. For what? They said, ‘He gave this bribe to get an occupancy permit.’”