Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar (L) and the chair of the opposition CHP party’s Istanbul branch, Ozgur Celik, meet after Karalar’s release, February 5, 2026. Photo: Republican People’s Party, CHP.
Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar and eight other local politicians from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, CHP, were released from prison on Thursday – and Karalar called for the release of hundreds of other CHP officials jailed as part of the government’s crackdown.
“First of all, I would like to send my greetings to [jailed Istanbul Mayor] Ekrem Imamoglu and my other mayors. I hope they will also regain their freedom as soon as possible,” Karalar said in front of the jail after he was released.
Karalar was accused of corruption and rigging public tenders. Arrested in July 2025, he was held in Silivri Prison in Istanbul. Karalar denied all the accusations.
Karalar said he had followed all the other court cases and did not believe the other mayors and CHP politicians would be kept behind bars for long. “I watched … and listened to all of them. Based on their statements, I also believe that all of them will regain their freedom very soon,” he said.
After speaking, Karalar decided to travel to his hometown of Adana in southern Turkey. He was expected to receive a warm welcome from tens of thousands of people in front of Adana Municipality.
Karalar’s trial will continue, however, and the Istanbul Prosecution Office said it would appeal the decision to release him.
The government and judiciary have been targeting CHP mayors, local politicians and municipal officials for nearly a year, accusing them of organised crime, corruption, terrorism and rigging public tenders, among others.
The authorities seek 2,352 years in prison for Imamoglu, naming him the leader of the “Imamoglu Organised Crime Group for Profit”, and with “leading a vast corruption network that cost the state billions of lira, bribery, establishing an organisation for committing crime, forgery, rigging public bids and disinformation”.
Imamoglu and the CHP reject the claims. They accuse the government of using the courts to eliminate their political rivals.
