The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office has opened a probe into allegations of illicit expenditures at some public events organised by the Istanbul municipality, marking the latest legal challenge to opposition-run districts in Turkey.
Ekrem Imamoglu © Mena Today
The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office has opened a probe into allegations of illicit expenditures at some public events organised by the Istanbul municipality, marking the latest legal challenge to opposition-run districts in Turkey.
The office said late on Wednesday it would investigate "irregular spendings" to determine whether the public experienced financial harm, without elaborating.
The Ankara chief prosecutor's office has also launched an investigation into two concerts organised by the Ankara municipality on Republic Day celebrations on Oct. 29.
The municipalities, which are Turkey's two largest cities and both run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), deny the allegations.
Speaking at a career fair on Thursday, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - who is seen as a potential future challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan - said the probes amounted to "reputation assassination".
The Istanbul municipality did not comment further on the probe when contacted by Reuters.
Late last month the CHP mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district was arrested and accused of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), charges he and his party reject.
Since then, the interior ministry dismissed and replaced elected mayors from the pro-Kurdish DEM party in some southeastern cities for alleged ties to militants, charges they and their party also deny.
Reporting by Burcu Karakas, Can Sezer and Birsen Altayli
Turkey and Qatar signed a series of agreements on Thursday ranging from trade facilitation to military and technical cooperation during Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani's visit to President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Turkish football club Ankaragucu have protested against their former president, Faruk Koca being sentenced to more than three years in prison for assaulting a referee last year, claiming the verdict was influenced by "misleading public perception".
Turkey was offered partner country status by the BRICS group of nations, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said, as Ankara continues what it calls its efforts to balance its Eastern and Western ties.
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