Turkish Officials Protest Pre-Dawn Raid, Say Lawyers Were Excluded

ANKARA – A senior official from the Çankaya Municipality and a member of the main opposition party have criticized a police operation that began at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday. Deputy Mayor Anıl Çetin and Republican People’s Party (CHP) member Yüksel Işık stated that the municipality’s legal team and lawyers were not allowed to participate in the process. The officials said the early-morning raid was conducted without including the municipality’s legal unit. They argued that excluding the lawyers violated standard procedures. The operation’s exact purpose has not been publicly detailed by authorities.