Ankara Provincial Chair of Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP), Ümit Erkol, has been detained as part of a corruption investigation linked to a cooperative in İzmir, Turkish media reported.
Erkol is expected to be transferred to İzmir following procedures in Ankara.
CHP Deputy Chair for Media and Public Relations Burhanettin Bulut criticised the detention in a post on X, saying Erkol was taken into custody in a “morning raid” without being summoned for questioning, describing it as the application of “enemy law”.
“Those who weaponise the judiciary are concerned not with the rule of law, but with preserving their own power. We will not bow to pressure or submit to unlawful practices,” he said.
CHP Deputy Chair for Elections and Legal Affairs Gül Çiftçi also criticised the detention, saying the decision to detain Erkol and transfer him under police escort did not serve any legal purpose and turned the process into a “show of force”.
The detention forms part of a wider investigation into what is publicly known as the “cooperative case” in İzmir.
The case involves allegations of corruption within the municipality-affiliated company İZBETON A.Ş. A total of 157 people have previously been subject to detention orders, including former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer, CHP İzmir Provincial Chair Şenol Aslanoğlu, and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya.
Soyer and Kaya were previously released in a separate phase of proceedings involving 65 defendants. However, Soyer remains in custody in a different case related to allegations of embezzlement involving cooperatives.
In October 2025, the court ordered the release of Şenol Aslanoğlu under judicial control and house arrest conditions.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 17 June.
According to CHP’s official website, Erkol was born in Afyonkarahisar. He graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Medicine and later completed postgraduate studies at the same institution.
He has previously served in leadership roles at the Ankara Medical Chamber and was a member of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association. He has also worked on human rights issues.
Erkol joined CHP in 2010 and later held various party positions before being appointed as an adviser in the party’s media and public relations department. He was elected CHP Ankara Provincial Chair in both 2023 and 2025.
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