CHP march demands release of Adana mayors

ADANA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) launched a march on Aug. 9 from Adana to Istanbul to demand the release of three imprisoned mayors in the southern city.

The protest, organized by the party’s youth branch in Adana, will end at Marmara Prison, where Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Seyhan Mayor Oya Tekin and Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar are being held.

The roughly 1,300-kilometer march, led by a 10-person team, is expected to take about 45 days. CHP branches in each province will greet the marchers along the route.

“This decision taken today is not only against the imprisonment of CHP mayors, it is also an action against the injustices and unlawfulness taking place in our country,” said Adana’s acting mayor, Güngör Geçer, before the march began.

Cem Aydın, head of the CHP youth branch, described the demonstration as a “historic” march for Karalar, Tekin and Aydar that would “carry the voice raised beyond Adana.”

The three mayors were arrested as part of a corruption investigation into the Istanbul Municipality. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is the most prominent figure detained in the case.