Among those detained were Kuşadası Municipality Chief of Staff Şebnem Kars Şenol, former deputy mayor Oğuzhan Turan and city council member Ali Kotan. Prosecutors also issued detention warrants for lawyer Ezgi Tezcan Yaşar, Tezcan’s daughter, and her husband, lawyer Umut Yaşar. Authorities said 15 of the 21 suspects had been detained, while prosecutors said operations to apprehend the remaining suspects were continuing. The ruling ended months of litigation over allegations of vote-buying at the congress that brought Özel to CHP leadership. Özel and his allies rejected the decision as judicial interference in opposition politics and formed the New Party.