Solidarity With OTHERS published a report in September 2025 examining detentions, prosecutions and administrative measures affecting Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, known as the CHP, following its success in the March 2024 local elections.
The report, Government Crackdown on the Main Opposition Party – CHP, covers developments from late 2024 through September 2025. It focuses on investigations involving CHP mayors and officials, the removal of elected local representatives, court intervention in the party’s internal organisation, restrictions on media coverage and the treatment of demonstrations.
The authors argue that the combined measures amount to a politically motivated campaign against the CHP. This is the report’s assessment; the authorities have presented the relevant investigations as criminal proceedings concerning allegations including corruption, misuse of office, terrorism links and insulting public officials.
The publication draws on a detailed chronology of incidents and cited media reports. It examines their political context and assesses their implications for judicial independence, due process, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and democratic participation.
Investigations and municipal interventions
According to the report, the measures followed significant CHP gains in the March 2024 local elections. The party retained Istanbul and won other major municipalities, including Ankara, Adana, Antalya and İzmir, in an election described in the publication as the governing Justice and Development Party’s largest municipal defeat.
The report says investigations into CHP-led municipalities expanded from late 2024. Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was detained and remanded in custody in October 2024 over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, while Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat was arrested in January 2025 as part of a public-tender investigation.
The campaign intensified with the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025 on allegations concerning corruption and misuse of office. The report presents İmamoğlu as a possible challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a future presidential election and argues that the timing of the proceedings raised concerns about political motivation.
The publication also records Istanbul University’s annulment of İmamoğlu’s university diploma one day before his detention. A university degree is a constitutional requirement for presidential candidates in Türkiye. The report characterises the decision as part of a wider effort to prevent his potential candidacy, rather than presenting this interpretation as a judicially established fact.
According to figures cited in the report, at least 16 CHP mayors had been jailed by mid-2025, while other mayors had been suspended, placed under house arrest or removed from office. It describes simultaneous operations involving the mayors of Adana, Antalya and Adıyaman in July 2025, as well as a separate investigation in İzmir in which 120 people were reportedly detained and 60 formally arrested.
The report also examines the use of state-appointed administrators and other mechanisms to replace elected opposition officials. Following İmamoğlu’s detention, the Interior Ministry suspended him and two Istanbul district mayors. A trustee was appointed to Şişli municipality, while the report says other CHP mayors were removed or suspended following criminal investigations.
In the authors’ assessment, this represented an extension to the CHP of practices previously used against municipalities governed by pro-Kurdish parties. They argue that replacing elected officials before the conclusion of criminal proceedings undermines local democracy and the choices made by voters.
Courts, party organisation and public dissent
The publication says legal proceedings also reached the CHP’s internal organisation. Prosecutors opened an investigation into the party’s 2023 national congress, at which Özgür Özel replaced Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as party leader.
In August 2025, Istanbul prosecutors indicted 10 CHP officials over alleged irregularities during the party’s provincial congress. The following month, an Istanbul court annulled the provincial congress, removed the elected provincial chair and board, suspended nearly 200 delegates and appointed a temporary caretaker body.
The report says these developments generated concern that courts could also intervene in the CHP’s national leadership election. CHP leader Özel described the proceedings as an attempted “coup” against the opposition. This language reflects his political assessment and is not adopted as a conclusion by Peaceful Actions.
The authors argue that the widespread use of pre-trial detention is particularly significant. Pre-trial detention is intended to secure criminal proceedings rather than punish suspects before conviction. The report questions whether detention decisions were based on individual assessments of risks such as flight or interference with evidence, and whether less restrictive measures were adequately considered.
It also records allegations of ill-treatment, strip-searches and inadequate access to healthcare involving detained opposition figures and demonstrators. These remain reported allegations unless established through independent investigations or court decisions.
Media restrictions form another part of the report’s analysis. It says the Radio and Television Supreme Council imposed or threatened sanctions against broadcasters covering opposition activities and protests. The publication also describes restrictions on online content, including the blocking of accounts on X and court-ordered access bans affecting material connected with an opposition-supported boycott.
Journalists reporting on demonstrations were reportedly detained, prosecuted or, in the case of some foreign reporters, deported. The authors argue that these measures reduced public scrutiny of the investigations and contributed to a more restrictive environment for political reporting.
The report says more than 1,800 people were arrested during demonstrations following İmamoğlu’s detention. It records the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, as well as restrictions on public gatherings. The authors assess these measures against the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, while acknowledging that the authorities framed their actions as public-order measures.
The publication concludes that the proceedings against the CHP should be considered collectively rather than as unrelated criminal cases. It argues that their scale, timing and concentration on elected opposition representatives raise broader concerns about judicial independence and equal political competition.
Its recommendations are directed towards international institutions, human rights bodies and democratic governments. In general terms, the report calls for closer scrutiny of the proceedings, protection of fundamental freedoms and support for the restoration of democratic and rule-of-law safeguards in Türkiye.