20.07.2026 09:51
Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, who was detained as part of a corruption investigation into the Izmit Municipality, stated while being taken from her home by police teams: 'My conscience is clear. I haven't eaten anything sour to have a stomachache. I love everyone very much. See you later.'
The Mayor of Izmit, Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, who was taken into custody during an operation conducted as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, was taken from her home by police officers.
"MY CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR"
Speaking to Kocaeli Gündem, Hürriyet stated: "My conscience is clear. I haven't eaten anything sour to have a stomachache. I love everyone very much. See you later."
31 PEOPLE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
In the investigation targeting the Izmit Municipality, an operation was carried out against 31 individuals, including Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, her spouse Murat Hürriyet, and CHP Izmit District Chair Gökhan Ercan, on charges of "forming an organization to commit crimes," "bribery," and "tampering with tenders."
DETAILS OF THE OPERATION CLARIFIED
The investigation file includes allegations of irregularities in municipal tenders, kinship relations between certain companies and municipal officials, commissions taken from companies doing business with the municipality, and that Murat Hürriyet was influential in tender processes and personnel recruitments. The procedures of the suspects taken into custody within the scope of the investigation are ongoing at the police department.
WHO IS FATMA KAPLAN HÜRRİYET?
Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet was born on August 20, 1982, in Kocaeli. She completed her primary and secondary education in Kocaeli and graduated from the Journalism Department of the Faculty of Communication at Kocaeli University. After working as a journalist in the local press for a while, she studied law and began her career as a lawyer.
Hürriyet entered political life with the Republican People's Party (CHP) and was elected as a CHP Kocaeli Deputy in the 2015 general elections, entering the Turkish Grand National Assembly. During her tenure as a deputy, she worked especially on women's rights, child abuse, press freedom, and local governments.
Elected as the Mayor of Izmit in the March 31, 2019 local elections as the CHP candidate, Hürriyet won again in the 2024 local elections, beginning her second term. Currently serving as the Mayor of Izmit, Hürriyet is married and the mother of one child.