Kıyıköy Mayor Ender Sevinç arrested

* Photo: Özgür Tiran / AA

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Taken into custody upon the allegations of "irregularity and bribery" in Turkey's northwestern province of Kırklareli, Ender Sevinç, the Kıyıköy Mayor of Vize district, has been arrested and dismissed.

Arrested on charge of "accepting bribes" by the Kırklareli Criminal Judgeship of Peace on Duty, Kıyıköy Mayor Ender Sevinç from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has also been removed from office by the decision of the Ministry of Interior as per the Article 127 of the Constitution and the Article 47 of the Law on Municipalities no. 5393.

Detained and held in detention for three days, the 13 suspects' formalities, including Sevinç, were completed at the gendarmerie yesterday (December 1). Seven were released by the gendarmerie.

Six suspects, including Kıyıköy Mayor Sevinç, were referred to the courthouse. The teams carried the documents seized during the operations to the courthouse in bags. In the meantime, the police and gendarmerie officers took tight security measures around the courthouse. The relatives of Mayor Ender Sevinç expressed their outrage at the reporters.

Following the legal proceedings at the prosecutor's office, Sevinç was referred to the judgeship on duty with a request for his arrest. While Mayor Ender Sevinç has been arrested, the proceedings of the other five detained people were still ongoing at the courthouse as of 9.30 am today.

What happened?

The Kırklareli Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation upon allegations and the gendarmerie teams carried out simultaneous operations in Kırklareli as well as its neighboring provinces Tekirdağ and İstanbul. In those operations, Kıyıköy Mayor Ender Sevinç, along with 12 other suspects, were taken into custody by the gendarmerie.

The gendarmerie teams searched the Kıyıköy Municipality and the houses and vehicles of the suspects and seized some documents. (HA/SD)