Three mayors arrested in southern Turkiye as part of crackdown on opposition
Istanbul (AP): The mayors of three major cities in southern Turkiye were arrested on Saturday, state-run media reported, joining a growing list of opposition figures detained since the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned in March.
Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids, according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP.
The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Anadolu reported.
Karalar was arrested in Istanbul and Tutdere was arrested in the capital, Ankara, where he has a home. Tutdere posted on X that he was being taken to Istanbul.
Ten people, including Karalar and Tutdere, were arrested as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into allegations involving organised crime, bribery and bid-rigging.
Details of the charges against them were not immediately released by prosecutors but the operation follows the arrests of scores of officials from municipalities controlled by the CHP in recent months.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely considered the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 22-year rule, was jailed four months ago over corruption allegations.
The former CHP mayor of Izmir, Turkiye's third-largest city, and 137 municipal officials were detained earlier this week as part of an investigation into alleged tender-rigging and fraud. On Friday, ex-mayor Tunc Soyer and 59 others were jailed pending trial in what Soyer's lawyer described as “a clearly unjust, unlawful and politically motivated decision”.
Also Friday, it was reported by state-run media that the CHP mayor of Manavgat, a Mediterranean resort city in Antalya province, and 34 others were detained over alleged corruption.
CHP officials have faced waves of arrests this year that many consider aimed at neutralising Turkiye's main opposition party. The government insists prosecutors and the judiciary act independently but the arrest of Istanbul's Imamoglu led to the largest street protests Turkiye has seen in more than a decade.
Imamoglu was officially nominated as his party's presidential candidate following his imprisonment. Turkiye's next election is due in 2028 but could come sooner.
The crackdown comes a year after the CHP made significant gains in local elections. Adiyaman, which was severely affected by the 2023 earthquake, was among several cities previously considered strongholds for Erdogan to fall to the opposition.
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AIMPLB delegation meets Kiren Rijiju, seeks one-year extension for uploading Waqf properties on UMEE
New Delhi: A delegation of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) met Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday to discuss the difficulties faced by mutawallis and Waqf Boards in uploading property details on the UMEED portal. The delegation also submitted a memorandum outlining several demands.
According to the Board, lakhs of registered waqf properties could not be uploaded due to severe technical issues and the short deadline prescribed under Section 3B of the amended Waqf/UMEED Act. The representatives argued that the responsibility for uploading already-registered properties should have been assigned to the Waqf Boards, and sought at least a one-year extension for uploading unregistered properties.
The delegation highlighted that the six-month timeline mandated under the Act has caused widespread hardship, as both mutawallis and State Waqf Boards struggled with glitches and procedural delays. They noted that even the Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan Waqf Boards approached the Tribunal seeking additional time, extensions that were subsequently granted, indicating that compliance within six months was not feasible.
The AIMPLB also pointed out a key discrepancy: although the UMEED portal was launched on 6 June 2025, the UMEED Rules and declaration forms required for uploading were notified only on 3 July 2025. Therefore, the Board argued, the portal’s launch date cannot be treated as the commencement date for calculating compliance timelines.
Given these challenges, the delegation urged the government to extend the initial six-month deadline by at least one more year. They expressed confidence that such an extension would prevent repeated approaches to the Tribunal except in exceptional circumstances. The Board further reminded the Minister that Section 113 of the Waqf Act empowers the Centre to issue orders to resolve difficulties arising during implementation.
Minister Rijiju heard the delegation’s concerns “with seriousness and attention” and assured them that the issues would be addressed soon.
The delegation comprised AIMPLB Vice President Syed Sadatullah Husaini; General Secretary Maulana Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi; Executive Member and MP Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi; former MP Mohammad Adeeb; Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind leaders Maulana Muhammad Hakimuddin Qasmi and Mufti Abdur Raziq; and Board members Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, Hakeem Muhammad Tahir, and Nabila Jamil.
The statement was issued by Dr. Mohd. Vaquar Uddin Latifi, Office Secretary of the AIMPLB.
