Over the past twelve months your correspondent has sent you 139 bulletins and something like 984 stories from the Turkish press. Read one at a time, they can feel like a blur of detentions, court rulings, cabinet meetings and budget talks. Read together, they tell a story. What follows is that story, set out as an almanac: the year month by month, the threads that ran through it, and — with all the caution such things deserve — the scenarios that look possible from here.

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🗓️ The year, month by month

September 2025

• A court annulled the CHP’s Istanbul congress and Gürsel Tekin was installed as trustee, then expelled from the party.

• Özgür Özel was re-elected CHP leader at an extraordinary congress with 835 of 917 votes.

• Operations began against Ankara’s concert spending and against municipalities in İzmir and Bayrampaşa.

October 2025

• Parliament opened with Bahçeli branding the CHP “culprit”, and a delegation was cleared to hear Öcalan on İmralı.

• Türkiye signed the Gaza declaration of intent alongside the US, Egypt and Qatar; Turkish MPs on the Freedom Flotilla were detained by Israel.

November – December 2025

• The 2026 budget talks, covered here in special editions — including the finding that not a single opposition bill reached a committee agenda in the 28th term.

January – February 2026

• Pensions became the CHP’s main campaign; whispers of a “post-Erdoğan era” circulated inside the AKP.

• The peace-process commission neared its report, the early-election debate began, and ENAG put annual inflation at 54%.

March – April 2026

• US and Israeli strikes on Iran brought war to the region and steep rises at the petrol pump.

• The İBB trial opened on 9 March. Erdoğan ruled out by-elections; mayors’ defections to the AKP gathered pace.

• School shootings in Siverek and Kahramanmaraş shook the country.

May – June 2026

• On 22 May came the “absolute nullity” ruling, restoring Kılıçdaroğlu’s leadership of the CHP.

• Bahçeli proposed a “coordinator” status for Öcalan; Ankara prepared for the NATO summit with house raids and protest bans.

July – August 2026

• The NATO summit was held in Ankara, and Özel launched the YENİ Party.

• The framework law passed with 467 votes; Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact; prosecutors moved to lift Özel’s immunity.

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🧵 Five threads that ran all year

1. The main opposition reshaped through the courts. From the Istanbul trustee in September to the nullity ruling in May and the YENİ Party in July, this was the year’s most-covered story. The opposition now stands in two parts.

2. Municipalities under pressure. “Mayor” appears in 50 of our headlines and “detained” in 44 — alongside a steady flow of mayors switching to the AKP.

3. The peace process. From the parliamentary commission to the “right to hope” debate and, finally, a framework law carried by 467 votes. Öcalan’s status and Demirtaş’s release remain open.

4. The election calendar. November 2027, spring 2028, even 16 April 2028 have all been floated. Under the constitution, Erdoğan can stand again only if parliament brings the vote forward — which requires 360 votes.

5. War next door, strain at home. Gaza, Iran and NATO gave Ankara a stage abroad, while households carried inflation, bad loans and the long wait for pension rises.

“The caravan is put in order on the road.” — the Turkish proverb this blog has lived by, and a fair description of Turkish politics this year.

🔭 Six scenarios for the months ahead

These are not predictions. They are Claude’s reading of where the trends in these bulletins point, from most to least likely.

• A. Legal pressure and a divided opposition continue · High
  The nullity ruling stands, the CHP and the YENİ Party fight over voters and mayors, and Özel’s immunity reaches parliament.

• B. The framework law is applied and the peace process advances · Medium
  Disarmament is verified; Demirtaş may be released in the autumn.

• C. An early election called by parliament in 2027 · Medium
  May or November 2027, allowing Erdoğan to stand again.

• D. A push for a new constitution · Medium–Low
  Built on the peace process, possibly heading to a referendum.

• E. The regional war flares again · Low–Medium
  A collapse of the US–Iran ceasefire would push fuel and inflation back up.

• F. The opposition reunites behind one candidate · Low
  İmamoğlu’s willingness to back another name keeps this door ajar.

📌 Dates to watch

• 1 October 2026 — parliament returns: the Özel immunity file and the framework law’s implementing rules.

• Autumn 2026 — Demirtaş’s possible release.

• January 2027 — minimum wage and pension rises, the clearest sign of early-election thinking.

• May / November 2027 — the early-election dates discussed in AKP circles.

My heartfelt thanks, as ever, to you for reading, and to the Turkish journalists whose work makes these bulletins possible. The new legislative year begins tomorrow, and the bulletins resume with it.

A note on how this was made: the almanac was compiled with the help of Claude, which read all 139 posts published on this blog between 2 September 2025 and 2 September 2026 and summarised them for me. The six scenarios are Claude’s reading of the trends in these bulletins, which I share here as food for thought rather than as my own forecast.

I say our blog, even though it is I who get up early in the mornings, go through the day’s esteemed newspapers and put together a bulletin for you. Without you, the dear reader, and had you not been there, the whole of this blog, and all that labour, would have lost its meaning.

So it is reader and writer together; and here I ought really to call myself a “gatherer of news”, or a “curator of daily news”. Otherwise this project, this undertaking, would never have come to mean anything at all.

First of all, my heartfelt and enormous thanks to every one of you who has subscribed to this blog and spared the time in your day to read it.

Next, endless thanks to our hard-working Turkish journalists, who bring us these stories at all hours, day and night. Without them this blog would not exist either, for I do not write a single news item from scratch; I am merely the intermediary, the means by which a given story reaches you.

The blog has led me to make friends in diplomatic circles in Ankara and Istanbul, and to attend invitations. I had no such intention when I set out. Because of my work, I already have access to gatherings of this kind, but meeting people through the blog has been much nicer. It gave me a reason to meet them, and a good excuse to start talking.

Over the course of the year I have gone about the blog by trial and error, proceeding, and this will sound rather Turkish, on the honest logic of “the caravan is put in order on the road”. It turned out this way because I had no previous experience of blogging. And it turned out well, too, truth be told.

Let us see. I hope it will be a fine year, first of all for my beautiful country, Türkiye, and then for everyone living on this earth, whatever their colour, language and religion, who bears no hostility towards Türkiye and no enmity towards the Turk.

A year has now passed since the day the blog was founded.

I dedicate to you a poem I love by the famous Turkish poet Nâzım Hikmet Ran. The way this poem describes the notion of “time” has always greatly appealed to me.

Since I’ve Been In Jail

Since I’ve been in jail
the world has turned around the sun ten times
And if you ask the earth, it will say:
“It’s not worth mentioning,
a microscopic time.”
And if you ask me, I will say:
“It’s ten years of my life.”
I had a pencil
the year I came to jail.
It wore out in a week from writing.
And if you ask the pencil, it will say:
“A whole life.”
And if you ask me, I will say:
“It’s nothing, a mere week.”
Osman who was jailed for murder
completed a seven-year stretch and left
since I’ve been in jail.
He wandered around outside for a while,
and then got jailed again for smuggling.
He served a six-month term and left again,
and yesterday a letter came saying he’s married
and a child will be born in the spring.
Now they’re ten years old
the children who fell from their mothers’ womb
that year I came to jail,
And the colts of that year who had long thin shaky legs
have long since become docile broad-rumped mares.
But the olive shoots are still shoots
and they’re still children.
New squares have opened up in my distant city
since I’ve been in jail.
And our family
is living in a house I’ve never seen
on a street I don’t know.
The bread was pure white, like cotton,
the year I came to jail.
Later it was rationed out,
And we here on the inside beat one another
for a piece of black crust the size of a fist.
Now it’s free again,
But brown and tasteless.
The year I came to jail
The Second One had just begun.
The ovens in Dachau Camp were not yet lit,
The atom bomb was not yet hurled upon Hiroshima.
Time flowed like the blood of a child with his throat cut.
Later that chapter was officially closed,
Now American dollars are talking about a Third.
But in spite of everything, the days have brightened
since I’ve been in jail,
And about half of them
“put their heavy hands on the pavement
and on the edge of darkness
straightened up.”
Since I’ve been in jail
the world has turned around the sun ten times.
And again I repeat with the same passion
what I wrote for them
the year I came to jail:
“They
whose number is as great
as ants on the earth
fish in the water
birds in the sky
are fearful and brave
ignorant and learned
and they are children,
And they
who destroy and create
it is only their adventure in these songs.”
And for the rest,
for example, my lying here for ten years,
it’s nothing...

⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

British plastic waste polluting irrigation channels in Turkey’s Çukurova plain

An investigation carried out in Turkey by the Guardian, reported by Karen McVeigh and Ayça Aldatmaz, has found that plastic waste from the UK is contaminating farmland and irrigation channels around Adana, with researchers detecting high levels of microplastics and other plastic residues in a water channel close to a major recycling zone used by British companies. The channel overflows onto agricultural land during heavy rain and feeds into a larger channel used to irrigate crops on the Çukurova plain, one of Turkey’s largest and most fertile farming basins. Samples taken by Sedat Gündoğdu, a marine biologist at Sabancı University’s Istanbul Policy Centre, and published in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment showed microplastic concentrations near the recycling zone reaching ten times those found in samples taken further away; he warned of serious risks to agricultural pollution and food safety, said the contamination is reaching the Mediterranean and adding to plastic accumulating at sea, and called for a total ban on plastic waste imports, mandatory microplastic filtration at recycling plants and independent monitoring of wastewater discharges in farming areas. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, roughly 13 per cent of British plastic waste sent to Turkey between May 2021 and July 2024 went to eight facilities in the Adana zone, with 13 UK companies making 545 shipments totalling 52,000 tonnes; the report makes no allegation that exporters acted unlawfully, though British rules place a duty on them to ensure waste is recycled without environmental harm. The UK exported 675,000 tonnes of plastic waste in 2025, its highest figure in eight years, of which 139,000 tonnes went to Turkey, while EU exports to the country rose 19 per cent to more than 500,000 tonnes. The EIA’s legal specialist Amy Youngman said Britain has persisted with an export-based system rather than cutting plastic use and recycling at home, lagging behind the EU and creating a structural inequality that shifts pollution it would not tolerate domestically onto communities in Turkey — evidence, she argued, of “waste colonialism”, the practice of richer countries sending plastic waste to states with weaker waste management and oversight. Greenpeace documented in 2021 that plastic waste from British supermarkets was being dumped and burned on open ground in Adana; Turkey banned imports of certain wastes that year, including the polyethylene that made up 94 per cent of British plastic exports, but withdrew the ban after pressure from the recycling industry. From November the EU will bar plastic waste shipments to non-OECD countries, though environmental groups fear that, since Turkey is an OECD member, the change may increase the volumes sent there.

Waste engulfs Turkey’s blue bays as the microplastic spiral spreads from sea to air

Plastic pollution long visible along the shores of Adana and Mersin has this year extended west to Kemer, Fethiye and Alanya, with data from the Microplastic Research Group showing that concentrations measured at all four stations sampled off Alanya reached between two and 65 times the highest figures previously reported in the scientific literature for Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, and that between 59 and 93 per cent of the particles bore processing marks characteristic of recycling plants. Turkey became one of Europe’s principal destinations for plastic waste after China banned such imports in 2017, and in April monthly imports passed 80,000 tonnes, the highest level in a decade, much of it destined for facilities in Adana and Mersin. The energy policy specialist Önder Algedik argues the problem is not confined to plastic in the sea but lies in a system that has itself become a pollution mechanism: regulatory changes in 2016 and 2019 turned waste incineration into a state-supported activity with incentives for the electricity generated, driving burning upwards, while the absence of an effective recycling system means much waste is never recycled at all — a system that claims not to pollute the sea, he says, while filling the air, with Turkey’s mountains, land and waters covered in refuse and its airspace turned into something like a refuse collection site. Rainfall has compounded this year’s picture: the Mediterranean region saw exceptional precipitation in the 2025-26 season, the heaviest since meteorological records began, and higher flows and surface runoff in the Seyhan, Ceyhan, Tarsus and other rivers may have carried land-based plastic into water systems. Earlier work on Adana’s irrigation channels found that illicit discharges from recycling facilities raised microplastic levels along a channel by up to 132-fold, with more than 5.3 billion particles an hour estimated to pass through just three of the channels examined. The extraordinary concentrations off Alanya are thought to be linked to recycling activity concentrated in Adana and Mersin, possible illegal discharges, heavy rain and flooding, with transport by eastern Mediterranean currents over weeks or months among the plausible scenarios — though specialists stress the larger question is how waste enters Turkey, how it is processed, how much is genuinely recycled and where the remainder ends up.

Police block miners marching on energy ministry over months of unpaid wages

Miners from the Eti Gümüş silver mine in Elazığ, part of the Yıldızlar SSS Holding group and members of the Bağımsız Maden-İş union, were cordoned off by police outside the National Library in Ankara as they tried to march on the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to press for the honouring of guarantees given to them. Union president Gökay Çakır said detained miners had been given neither water nor food, and demanded that the energy, labour and interior ministries secure payment of between five and seven months of wages and outstanding entitlements; inspectors had already established that 536 workers from the Elazığ and Doruk mines were owed severance and other rights, he said, but the promises made had not been kept. Insisting that the ministries and not the company were their counterparts, Çakır said ministers and the president should intervene, noted the group’s licences had been cut from 3,000 to 180 and could be cancelled altogether, and said the workers would not leave even if detained, since they had reached breaking point and had families to feed. The YENİ Party’s İzmir MP Ümit Özlale said an agreement signed on 28 April under the guarantee of the labour, interior and energy ministries should be implemented, and criticised the Ankara governor’s office for issuing what he called a tailor-made six-day ban on joint protests by Doruk and Eti Gümüş workers, arguing this showed the holding company’s influence over state institutions; he added that officers had even asked the miners to remove their helmets while they waited for a meeting with a deputy minister. Erkan Baş, leader of the Workers’ Party of Turkey, said courts, ministers and everyone else acknowledged the workers were in the right, yet they were hungry, their children waiting at home for bread, and they were left on the streets. He said the ministers should admit their promise had been broken and apologise, and pointed to the contradiction between being told to wait for a meeting and being told they could not wait there, pledging to do whatever the workers did.

State school’s enrolment demands: six months of bills, boxes of paper towels — and batteries by brand

A list of requirements said to have been handed to parents enrolling children at a state school in Istanbul ahead of the new academic year has drawn criticism. According to a report in Sözcü, alongside identity papers and proof of residence the school asked for the last six months of electricity, water and gas bills as well as a dated residence document, ostensibly to verify addresses. Parents were also reportedly asked to supply two boxes of Z-fold paper towels, five reams of A4 paper and a box of whiteboard markers. The item that attracted most attention was a request for five batteries, with a particular brand — Duracell — specified in brackets. Parents objected to being asked for stationery and hygiene supplies on this scale simply to register a child at a state school.

🏛️ Politics

Erdoğan receives parliamentary speaker Kurtulmuş at the presidential complex

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received the speaker of parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. The two are said to have discussed the legislation drawn up for the process the government calls “Terror-Free Türkiye”. The meeting is also understood to have covered the steps to be taken next as part of that process.

Turkish parliament rises for recess until 1 October

The decision for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to go into recess until 1 October has been published in the Official Gazette. Under it, parliament adjourned from Monday 10 August and will reconvene at 2pm on Thursday 1 October. The decision was taken at the 125th sitting of the general assembly, held on 10 August.

First move after the framework law: interior ministry summit to set out how it will be applied

Following parliament’s approval of the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration — the measure widely known as the framework law — the interior ministry has announced that Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has urgently summoned the governors, police chiefs and gendarmerie commanders of all 81 provinces to a video conference to clarify the roadmap for implementation. The wide-ranging meeting, which begins at 3pm tomorrow, will also be attended by the speaker of parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş, bringing the legislature and the provincial administration responsible for carrying the process out onto a single screen. Speaking ahead of the summit, Çiftçi said everyone would do their part to ensure the process did not falter. Governors will be asked to monitor developments in their provinces in real time, and the meeting will cover social integration, rehabilitation and the maintenance of public order, along with the difficulties governors and law enforcement may encounter on the ground — among the most critical items on the agenda — with a call for vigilance against provocations, waves of disinformation and any quarters seeking to derail the process. Governors are to act as the most senior coordinators of the process in their provinces, ensuring cooperation between institutions and accurate public information, while police in urban areas and the gendarmerie in the countryside are to apply a zero-tolerance approach to public order, preventing provocation while strengthening public trust. The summit is intended to settle the practical guide for applying the “Terror-Free Türkiye” vision and formally to open the next stage of the process.

Direct flights launched between Tehran and Trabzon

The first direct flight between Trabzon and the Iranian capital, Tehran, has landed on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, with the Airbus A320 operating as flight TBN7279 touching down at Trabzon Airport after a journey of about two hours and greeted with the traditional water salute. Folk dance troupes performed at a ceremony at the airport, where passengers were welcomed with flowers and given scarves made from the region’s claret-and-blue keşan cloth. Trabzon’s metropolitan mayor, Ahmet Metin Genç, said the launch mattered greatly to the city, that work on the route had been under way for roughly two years and had been held up by war, and that the service would benefit local tourism, adding that the number of countries whose aircraft now serve Trabzon proved its standing as a destination. The provincial culture and tourism director, Tamer Erdoğan, said Iranian travel agents had previously been hosted in the city, that the flights would operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, and that more than 9,000 Iranian visitors came to Trabzon last year; he also expressed the belief that Trabzonspor’s signing of the Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah would help tourism, and said North Africa and Egypt were the next targets. Iran’s consul general in Trabzon, Hossein Khosravi, described the long-awaited launch as a historic day, while the head of the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Erkut Çelebi, said the route had been pursued for some time and would be significant for business. The travel agency owner Amir Shahabedin Ansari also spoke at the ceremony, after which passengers passed through passport control.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

AKP hails 467-vote majority for framework law as historic show of parliamentary consensus

Speaking at party headquarters, AKP spokesman Ömer Çelik drew attention to the 467 votes by which parliament approved the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, known publicly as the framework law, calling the figure significant in the political history of the republic in both numerical and political terms. He argued that the scale of support showed a very high proportion of MPs, each carrying the sentiments and demands of constituents and representing different sections of society, had found the legal framework reasonable, and that this amounted to a clear signal of backing for the disarmament and dissolution process on a subject that has generated half a century of debate and literature. Çelik said the result also exposed as hollow the claim that parliament had been weakened or pushed aside under the presidential system of government, demonstrating instead the assembly’s capacity to discharge its responsibilities on behalf of the nation. He noted the sharpest exchanges had come the previous day, drew a distinction between criticism heard in civil society and that voiced in the chamber, and accused some of seeking visibility through highly destructive attacks; when AKP speakers asked what those critics proposed, he said, nothing was forthcoming, revealing an absence of strategic or political approach and a marked inability to read the issue in the light of its history or of regional developments. Rejecting the idea that Turkey needs a third eye, Çelik said the country has only a national one, belonging to its 86 million people, and that the situation does not resemble those in countries where conflict resolution literature has developed: the matter has never been one between Turks and Kurds, he said, and even at moments of greatest social strain citizens of every background, Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Alevi and Sunni, acted with a consciousness of being a single nation, so the question cannot be explained in terms of sectarian or ethnic division but concerns the dissolution and disarmament of the PKK/KCK.

MHP’s Feti Yıldız sends note to live broadcast: is Selahattin Demirtaş covered by the law?

The passage of the framework law through parliament has prompted debate over who stands to benefit from it, with conflicting statements about the position of the imprisoned former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş. His lawyer, Mahsuni Karaman, wrote on social media that Demirtaş and his co-defendants are held solely under article 302 of the penal code, which falls within the scope of the law, and that there is no legal doubt about their release once it takes effect. On a Habertürk television programme, the journalist Alişer Delek said that while Demirtaş’s brother Nurettin, a member of the armed cadres, would be able to return, Selahattin Demirtaş’s own position was unclear. Delek then reported that the MHP’s deputy chairman, Feti Yıldız, had sent a note to the broadcast in response, stating that Demirtaş is covered by the law.

Law passed and attention turns to Öcalan, with October seen as the moment of implementation

The framework law’s passage through parliament by 467 votes has opened a new phase in the process, but its provisions cannot take effect until the security services establish and confirm that the PKK has dissolved itself and completed disarmament, a finding that must then be settled by the National Security Council and published in the Official Gazette. According to a report in Türkiye Gazetesi, that verification — covering the end of the organisation’s activities and the surrender of all weapons — is among the critical stages, after which the matter is expected to be taken to the security council. A timetable of roughly six weeks to two months is said to be under consideration for the handover of weapons, the vacating of caves and the surrender of logistical materiel, with Abdullah Öcalan expected to call shortly on members to give up their weapons to the relevant units and return to Turkey, and the Kandil leadership reportedly due to make a statement in the coming days about the caves being abandoned. If disarmament is completed by the end of September and the security council decides accordingly, implementation of the law is anticipated to begin in October. The national intelligence organisation and other bodies are said to be in contact with the central Iraqi government, the authorities in northern Iraq and the Syrian administration over the method and location of the handover, with PKK members in Iraq expected to apply to special units to be set up in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, where the collection centres are also to be established.

KCK’s Mustafa Karasu on the framework law: “this is not a law that solves the Kurdish question”

Mustafa Karasu, a member of the KCK executive council, has responded to parliament’s approval of the framework law — the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration — by 467 votes to 87, with seven abstentions. Speaking to Medya Haber, he said the law matters at this stage and that a course has been embarked upon, though there is much in it to criticise: given a century-long rupture between the Turkish state and the Kurds, which a democratic and political settlement exists to repair, he said the measure should be read as the beginning of entry into a legal and political process, invoking the leadership’s phrase that a thousand kilometres begins with a single step. It is not, he said, a law that resolves the Kurdish question, and its failure to mention that question or to acknowledge Kurdish reality is a significant shortcoming already noted in the movement’s own statement; what matters now is whether the process is carried forward with the necessary speed and determination or slows as it has over the past eighteen months to two years, though his side is determined to see it succeed. Karasu also stressed language, arguing that peace begins with the words used and that without a change in vocabulary, tone and approach it cannot be achieved — there is no longer any point, he said, in talk of “terrorists” and “terrorist organisations”, and neither the press, the government nor its spokespeople have been careful on this front. He argued that implementing what the law sets out will be impossible unless Abdullah Öcalan is at the centre of the process and plays a directing role, since the matter concerns not one person but a society, thousands of fighters and thousands of cadres. Although the PKK has dissolved itself, he said, a community remains — the movement was never one run by statutes but by an organisational culture — and its conduct and orientation will be determined by Öcalan; without his direction, neither long-standing members nor newer recruits will act individually, and the movement itself does not have the power to substitute for that.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (New Party and İYİ Party)

Özel breaks his silence after the framework vote: “my conscience is clear — this wasn’t one man’s win, it was Turkey’s”

Speaking for the first time since the framework law passed, YENİ Party leader Özgür Özel told Deniz Zeyrek of Nefes and Saygı Öztürk of Sözcü why his party backed it and rejected suggestions of a split among his MPs, saying each voted according to the conscience of their own province. He described the approach as a hybrid model and a new kind of politics: imposing a party line would have put MPs in difficulty and forced some to break group discipline, so he asked them to trust him to make his case from the rostrum and left them alone with their consciences and their voters. Support was strongest in Diyarbakır and in Istanbul districts with large Kurdish electorates, he said, while in his own province of Manisa the prevailing view was against and two of its MPs voted no. Özel complained that the process lacked transparency even within parliament, with the text sent to his party only half an hour beforehand and the public believing it contained things it did not; in those circumstances, he said, a blanket instruction was impossible, while a collective no would have positioned the party against peace and left it open to the charge of opposing an end to terrorism. He said his conscience was clear, that reversing a long-held position merely out of opposition to Erdoğan would have been wrong, and that if something has finally been won, at least the president has not won it alone — the country is the winner. Politics that says black whenever Erdoğan says white does not always pay, he argued, adding that the AKP was the party most discomfited by his MPs’ yes votes, since it had expected otherwise and would have exploited a no just as readily. On prisons, where the remand and convicted population now exceeds 433,000, Özel said he had personally visited party colleagues in six prisons before the vote and found almost all of them in favour of supporting the law, provided it is followed by democratisation: an end to lengthy pre-trial detention, the right to a fair trial, and European-standard rules on matters such as anonymous witnesses and pressure on defendants to confess. Excluding those involved in the coup attempt of 15 July, those who shot at police, and perpetrators of femicide and child abuse, he argued that the state should extend the same compassionate hand to other prisoners he called victims of circumstance, and said Turkey must return swiftly to the rule of law and an independent judiciary through social consensus, since without social peace neither development nor a solution to unemployment is possible.

YENİ Party MPs issue declaration of support for Özgür Özel: “we are demonstrating our complete unity”

The YENİ Party’s parliamentary group has published a joint statement backing its leader, Özgür Özel, after the split in the party’s vote on the framework bill drew attention: although Özel voted in favour, 54 of his MPs voted against and 35 voted in favour. The declaration says the country is passing through one of the most difficult periods in its political history, and describes the party as having been born out of the nation’s will for change and named by the nation, now growing along the path the nation opened. It says Özel has not bent an inch, retreated a step or left a word unsaid despite the suffering, persecution and attempts at domination directed at him — told there was no party, he said one would be founded; told there was no money, he said it would be found; told the problems were many, he said they would be overcome — and that these injustices continue today. The statement presents his approach as a new generation of democratic politics beyond old habits, one that showed itself in the parliamentary vote by favouring collective judgement over the dominance of a leader, pluralism over uniformity and consultation over imposition, and claims the party heard the voice of all 86 million citizens and of every section of society. Praising his determination to widen the space for democratic politics and bring different parts of society together around a shared future, the group declares its complete unity, saying its members stand tightly and arm in arm behind Özel and regard it as a great honour to walk under his leadership and share in the same struggle.

YENİ Party opens online membership

The YENİ Party, founded on 24 July, has begun accepting membership applications online. The announcement was made by Burhanettin Bulut, the party’s MP for Adana, who wrote on social media inviting people to join in order to have a say in Turkey’s future and be part of change, adding that the party draws its strength from the nation and its hope from the days ahead. Applications are being taken through the address uyelik.yeni-parti.org.tr.

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⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

Claims that Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı is the secret witness who put Cem Küçük behind bars — his lawyers hit back

Lawyers for the journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı are preparing to file a criminal complaint over claims that he is the anonymous witness whose testimony led to the imprisonment of the pro-government commentators Cem Küçük and Tahir Sarıkaya. Küçük was detained last week over allegations of blackmail and disinformation and subsequently remanded in custody for publicly disseminating misleading information about the public; the secret witness in his case is said to have alleged that he posted on social media in return for payments from certain businesspeople and that he knowingly circulated misleading information about the İstanbul municipality investigation. Tahir Sarıkaya, a presenter on Beyaz TV between whom and Küçük money transfers were reportedly identified, was detained and remanded on a blackmail charge shortly afterwards, again on the strength of anonymous testimony. The journalist Fatih Altaylı wrote in his column that the witness may be Kütahyalı and that the inquiry could extend to further names, echoing earlier speculation that had pointed to Kütahyalı and cited social media posts by his wife made before and after Küçük’s detention. Kütahyalı — who was himself detained on 14 May 2026 in an Adana-centred investigation spanning 21 provinces into illegal betting, money laundering and aggravated fraud, and remanded four days later, denying the charges and telling investigators that the transactions recorded by the financial crimes board MASAK were personal debts and receivables — has instructed his lawyers, who have submitted expert reports and scientific opinions in his own case, to pursue a complaint over the allegations.

Teenager jailed for 16 years and 11 months over fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Mustafa Yağız Edik

A court in Aksaray has sentenced the defendant, identified only as R.M., to 16 years and 11 months in prison over the knife fight in which 16-year-old Mustafa Yağız Edik was killed. The incident took place in the early hours of 10 March 2026 on Şehit Mehmet Ali Demir Street in the Büyük Bölcek neighbourhood, and is said to have begun with an argument after R.M. harassed Edik’s 15-year-old cousin by telephone and on WhatsApp. When the argument escalated into a fight, R.M. stabbed Edik in the heart; he was taken to hospital but died despite efforts to save him. R.M. fled the scene, was apprehended by police and was remanded in custody by the court before which he was brought. The sentence was handed down at the concluding hearing, after final statements from the parties.

“Even if we faint from the heat, we have to keep working”: labourers on toiling through Turkey’s summer

Workers across several sectors have told T24 how extreme heat affects them on the job, following a joint statement on 4 August by the United Metal Workers’ Union (Birleşik Metal-İş) and the Turkish Medical Association arguing that existing legislation is inadequate in the face of the climate crisis and that statutory regulation of working in high temperatures has become a necessity. Their appeal cites an International Labour Organization report from 2024 which found that roughly 70 per cent of workers worldwide are exposed to extreme heat in summer, with around 19,000 deaths and close to 23 million heat-related workplace injuries each year, alongside longer-term risks including cancer, cardiovascular disease and kidney dysfunction. Halit Korkut, who works at a piston factory in Kocaeli and spends more than ten hours a day away from home, said no precautions were taken at his plant — no air conditioning, and ventilation systems left switched off, he was told, because they gave off a bad smell — and that with a monthly wage of 50,000 lira supporting a family of four, 15,000 of it going on rent, exercising the right to refuse work is simply not an option. Kevser Yılmaz, 49, a landscaping worker employed by an Istanbul municipality, said crews are stood down on muddy days in winter but not on the hottest summer days, and recalled being taken ill on the job last August; she and her colleagues have been campaigning for union recognition for four or five years in the hope of securing protections through a collective agreement rather than depending on the goodwill of supervisors. Ayberk Varlı, a nursing student working summers at a glass factory in the Polatlı industrial zone where his father is a longtime foreman, said temperatures around the furnace feel like 45 to 50 degrees and that young seasonal workers typically leave after three or four months having lost weight; while welcoming the unions’ statement, he argued that legal safeguards will require sustained pressure and must be paired with an ecological struggle against the climate crisis that creates the risks in the first place.

🏛️ Politics

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defence pact: an attack on one is an attack on all

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca, according to a statement from Turkey’s Directorate of Communications, which said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Saudi Arabia for a Mecca Joint Defence Summit held at the Safa Palace, where the three countries’ relations and matters of mutual interest were discussed. The statement said the pact was signed by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Erdoğan and Sharif on the basis of what it described as deep historical ties, longstanding bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity, shared strategic interests and established defence cooperation, and as a reflection of their common desire to strengthen collective security, promote peace and stability in the region and beyond, and build a secure and prosperous future together. Under its terms, the agreement is intended to reinforce collective deterrence against aggression of any kind and stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack on all of them, while also providing for the development of defence cooperation between them in all its dimensions.

Six more clauses passed on youth justice bill as penalties for parents are stiffened

Turkey’s parliament has approved six further clauses of the bill amending the Child Protection Act and several other laws, which covers arrangements for children drawn into crime and, following debate, has widened the provisions applying to parents and lengthened the prison terms attached to them. Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code raise the penalties under the article on breaching obligations arising from family law: failure to meet duties of care, education or support, prosecutable on complaint, moves from up to one year in prison to between three months and two years; abandoning a pregnant wife, or an unmarried woman with whom one lives and whom one knows to be carrying one’s child, in a helpless state rises from three months to one year to between six months and two years; and gravely endangering the morals, safety or health of one’s children rises from three months to one year to between one and three years. A change to the Code of Criminal Procedure requires courts, within fifteen days of receiving an indictment and investigation file, to return to the prosecutor’s office any indictment drawn up in respect of a child under fifteen without a social inquiry report, noting the deficiencies. Under the bill, child offenders will begin their sentences in closed penal institutions rather than directly in juvenile education centres, transferring only if assessed as being of good conduct by a panel of psychologists, pedagogues and child development specialists meeting every three months; those aged 12 to 18 will be housed in separate sections according to sex, physical development and type of offence, while children sentenced to a total of three years or less for intentional offences, or five years or less for negligent ones, will serve their terms directly in education centres. Children who abscond, are remanded over another offence, receive a finalised solitary confinement penalty or whose conduct is deemed a threat to order or personal safety may be sent back to closed institutions by decision of the administration and observation board. The bill also provides that, except in cases of intentional homicide, sexual offences, drug manufacture and trafficking and forming a criminal organisation, each day spent in custody before the age of fifteen will count as two towards conditional release, and bans the sale, display, purchase or carrying by under-18s of knives and other cutting, piercing or bruising implements not otherwise covered by law. After the first section was passed and debate on the second concluded, Deputy Speaker Pervin Buldan adjourned the sitting until Saturday 8 August.

30,000 security staff to be stationed at school gates before new term begins

Turkey plans to deploy 30,000 security personnel across all 81 provinces under an inter-ministerial protocol aimed at strengthening safety in schools before the academic year opens on 14 September 2026, according to a report in Yeni Şafak, with applications to be taken through the state employment agency İŞKUR. Background checks on candidates will be carried out by the Interior Ministry and interviews conducted by the Education Ministry, while deployments will take account of pupil numbers, a school’s location, its security requirements and physical conditions; eligible candidates will be able to apply once vacancies are advertised, with provincial governors’ offices expected to plan the allocation of places by province and by school. The new staff will work at school entrances and exits in support of the physical security and early-warning elements of the seven-tier school safety model, monitoring the movement of pupils, parents and visitors and reporting anything suspicious to school management and the security services, with the wider aim of reducing risks around school premises and helping to prevent bullying, fights and incidents involving knives and other sharp implements. The Education Ministry stepped up its school security work after attacks in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa; Minister Yusuf Tekin has previously announced plans for an artificial intelligence-assisted risk analysis and early-warning system assessing pupils’ absenteeism, disciplinary records and other risk indicators together, and said school CCTV would be integrated into the City Security Management System so that police units can monitor security through it.

Justice minister signals law for online journalism: “it must all be brought under one roof”

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has signalled support for legislation covering internet-based news outlets, telling the 13th Digital Media Workshop organised by the online journalism association TİGAD in Iğdır — where he had earlier visited the provincial governor’s office — that online news must be brought together under a single roof and that current needs have made such a law necessary. Noting that the matter ought to have been considered earlier, Gürlek said that if the association had drawn up its own legislative proposals he would do what he could to help bring them before parliament. TİGAD’s chairman, Okan Geçgel, said he had previously discussed the idea with Vice-President Fuat Oktay, who had encouraged the association to prepare a draft and bring it forward with his support. Reiterating his own backing, Gürlek argued that with everyone now producing news online there needs to be clarity about who is doing so and who is producing genuine journalism, since the work carries responsibility, and described internet journalism as a force in its own right given how instantly news reaches people’s screens. He also referred to the social media bill expected to reach parliament in October, parts of which have already been made public, saying it would introduce significant provisions to address disinformation and information pollution online, where he said people trade accusations, expose one another’s private lives and spread false reports.

More than 2,000 checkpoints scrapped along the borders as peace process legislation advances

Activity has begun along Turkey’s borders while the twelve-article framework bill tied to the peace process continues to be debated in parliament’s justice committee, according to a report by Nefes. Troop numbers have been reduced at outposts sitting directly on the border in the Hakkâri districts of Yüksekova, Esendere, Şemdinli, Çukurca and Derecik, in the Şırnak districts of Beytüşşebap, Uludere and Silopi, and in Başkale and Gürpınar in Van, all of which adjoin Iran and Iraq. Some of the fortified military posts known as kalekol and kulekol — built from concrete blocks over the past decade to withstand mortar, rocket and heavy weapons attacks — along with associated high-security forward observation towers and control points, have also been removed. In total, 2,763 search and control points have been dismantled on road routes and on tracks leading into rural areas in provinces and districts bordering Iran, Iraq and Syria, of which 2,560 were operated by the police and 203 by the gendarmerie. Reconnaissance, interception and surveillance work is understood to be continuing at the border outposts. The report also notes that proceedings in the justice committee saw a heated exchange between the İYİ Party’s Türkeş and the MHP’s Bülbül, with MPs advancing on one another.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Fists on the table as framework bill debate descends into scuffle in parliamentary committee

Tempers flared in Turkey’s parliamentary justice committee during debate on the “Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration”, with a fierce exchange between the İYİ Party’s Adana MP Ayyüce Türkeş Taş and the MHP’s Sakarya MP Muhammed Levent Bülbül. Türkeş Taş had criticised the attempt to confine the committee’s consideration of the bill to a single day, arguing that legislating is a serious business requiring proper thought, and went on to object to the use of Alparslan Türkeş’s political legacy, saying it could not be used as bleach to launder the filth of others’ own actions. Bülbül reacted sharply, telling her to mind her language and insisting she could not describe the MHP leader’s actions as filth, to which Türkeş Taş replied that she had said no such thing about the party leader. As the row escalated, Bülbül said his side fought so that no one in the world could threaten her, and struck the table with his fist; when the İYİ Party’s Balıkesir MP Burak Dalgın challenged him, Bülbül rose and advanced on him, before MPs from both parties intervened and he was removed from the committee room. The committee’s chair, Cüneyt Yüksel, briefly adjourned proceedings. Türkeş Taş also rejected the use of the honorific “Sayın” for both the president and Abdullah Öcalan under parliament’s roof, saying she refused as both an MP and a citizen to see them placed on an equal footing, and recalled that during debate on the defence ministry’s budget the Turkish army had been described in insulting terms with no one but her objecting. Criticising assessments framed around the financial cost of terrorism, she asked what the cost would have been had the PKK not been fought and the country divided, demanding to know what price could be put on the land and on those killed.

Framework bill reaches justice committee amid rows over Öcalan honorific and Demirtaş: “he is not your useful tool, he is our comrade”

The twelve-article framework bill prepared for the process the government calls “Terror-Free Türkiye” — formally the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, submitted to the speaker’s office on 5 August — came before parliament’s justice committee at 3.30pm amid repeated flare-ups, beginning before proceedings opened when İYİ Party MPs protested that the doors had not been unlocked and that the room was too small for the occasion, with a crush as they were finally opened; the party, which had asked the speaker’s office for the sittings to be held in the ceremonial hall, broadcast live and opened to bar associations, academics, veterans and families of the fallen, streamed the session on its own social media accounts instead. Speaking as an initial signatory, the AKP’s Abdulhamit Gül said the goal was the legacy of those killed and wounded in the conflict, described the bill as the nation’s rather than any one party’s and as the product of an unprecedented parliamentary consensus with 367 signatures, and said it had not emerged from bargaining. The MHP’s Feti Yıldız said terrorism that had cost tens of thousands of lives and vast resources was about to be consigned to history, tracing the process from Devlet Bahçeli’s call of 1 October 2024 through Abdullah Öcalan’s disarmament appeal to the organisation’s self-dissolution on 12 May 2025 and insisting the unitary state, Turkish as the official language and secularism were preserved. His party colleague Erkan Akçay set out the mechanics, arguing that the bill is not an amnesty but a conditional deferral regime: nothing operates until the security establishment certifies disarmament and dissolution and the National Security Council publishes that finding, intentional killings and pre-June 2005 offences carrying life terms fall outside its scope, individuals must apply in person within six months, deferral periods run to five or ten years depending on sentence, and any fresh terror offence cancels the arrangement. DEM’s Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit called the moment a historic threshold and the bill a first step towards a “Democratic Republic” belonging to all 86 million, but sparked uproar when she thanked Öcalan alongside President Erdoğan, drawing shouts from İYİ Party benches. The CHP’s İnan Akgün Alp gave qualified support, saying Turkey must emerge not authoritarian but democratic, and criticised the omission of the parliamentary commission’s democratisation proposals. The YENİ Party’s Murat Emir objected to the absence of live broadcasting, argued the text was carelessly drafted and silent on democratisation, and pointed to unimplemented Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights rulings concerning Can Atalay, Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, Osman Kavala and the Gezi defendants; his exchange with Yıldız over whether Demirtaş would benefit from the law prompted DEM’s Saruhan Oluç to interject that Demirtaş was not their useful tool and should not be used to build their sentences, but was their comrade.

Can you spot me? A little “Where’s Waldo?” to start your morning. Fair warning: I’m not the one in the striped shirt, because in this room the dress code is strictly Grey Suit and Grim Expression.

Framework bill clears justice committee after 18 hours and angry scenes; YENİ Party votes in favour

Turkey’s parliamentary justice committee has approved the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration — widely known as the framework law — after eighteen hours of debate, with DEM’s Saruhan Oluç reporting that the AKP, MHP, DEM and the YENİ Party all voted in favour, and the MHP’s Feti Yıldız announcing the result on social media; the bill is expected to reach the floor of the chamber on Monday 10 August. Proceedings, which began at 3.30pm the previous day after İYİ Party MPs protested that the doors were locked and the room too small, were repeatedly disrupted: the MHP’s Muhammed Levent Bülbül struck the table and advanced on the İYİ Party’s Burak Dalgın, restrained by MPs from both parties, after an exchange over remarks that Devlet Bahçeli could not launder his own conduct through Alparslan Türkeş’s legacy; İYİ Party members objected to DEM’s Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit thanking both President Erdoğan and Öcalan with the honorific “Sayın”; and a clash between the YENİ Party’s Murat Emir and Yıldız over Selahattin Demirtaş’s position prompted Oluç to say Demirtaş was not their useful tool but his party’s comrade. Substantively, the bill makes everything conditional on the security services establishing that the PKK/KCK and any linked structures have ended their existence and surrendered all weapons and munitions, confirmed by a National Security Council decision published in the Official Gazette. It then defers investigations, prosecutions and the enforcement of sentences — five years where the offence or sentence involves up to 15 years, ten years where it exceeds that or involves a life term — while excluding intentional killings committed in the course of the organisation’s activities and offences before 1 June 2005 carrying life or aggravated life sentences. Limitation periods are suspended, files and evidence preserved, assets subject to confiscation liquidated to the Treasury, and deferral decisions recorded in a dedicated system accessible only to prosecutors and courts in connection with a case; committing a terror offence during the deferral period cancels it, while completing the period without offending brings a decision of no prosecution, discontinuance, or the sentence being treated as served. Those wishing to benefit must apply in writing within six months to prosecutors or designated bodies. Implementation will be monitored by a board chaired by a vice-president and comprising the justice, foreign, interior and defence ministers, the presidency’s secretary-general, the head of the national intelligence agency and the secretary-general of the National Security Council, with power to form sub-commissions, to review progress periodically, to request judicial, administrative and legislative measures, and to apply for the lifting of consequential disqualifications after two or three years depending on the deferral length. The board will report regularly to parliament, where a separate monitoring commission will be set up, and officials carrying out duties under the law will bear no legal, administrative or criminal liability for doing so.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (New Party and others)

No luxury, no ostentation: YENİ Party opens the doors of its new headquarters

The YENİ Party, founded by Özgür Özel after his departure from the CHP, has given journalists a look inside its new headquarters in the Çankaya district of Ankara, where refurbishment is nearing completion on both the interior and the façade and where, on the leader’s instructions, extravagance has been avoided in everything from the furniture to the decoration. The building, in Mustafa Kemal neighbourhood and previously used by the Gelecek Party, is due to open on 30 August; the party’s leadership is still working out of parliament, but much of its activity is expected to move there once the premises come into use. The eight-storey building comprises a ground floor, three basement levels and four upper floors, with Özel’s office on the third floor — the room formerly used by Gelecek Party leader Ahmet Davutoğlu, now being prepared for him. The second floor is set aside for members of the central executive committee, the fourth for party media staff and personnel, and part of the ground floor is to be made available to journalists covering the party, while the headquarters also contains meeting rooms, a canteen, further offices and an underground car park. Gas, water and electricity connections have reportedly been completed. Monthly rent on the building is said to exceed four million lira, with payments due to begin in October.

YENİ Party makes its first gain in Muğla as Yatağan mayor quits the CHP

Mesut Günay, the mayor of Yatağan in Muğla province, has announced his resignation from the CHP and joined the YENİ Party, becoming the new party’s first mayor in the province; CHP members of the municipal council resigned alongside him and made the same move. An event was held outside the town hall to mark the switch, with party supporters and others gathering there before walking to the YENİ Party’s district headquarters, where Günay and the councillors formally joined. Günay said the decision was not an individual one but the collective will of Yatağan, taken after consultation with party members, the district organisation, the youth and women’s branches, the municipal council and residents who had and had not voted for him. Leaving what he called the ancestral home of the CHP had not been easy, he said, and he carried respect and loyalty towards it; the move was made not by abandoning the party’s legacy but by claiming it, carrying the values he believes in forward under one roof without denying the past. He added that he had backed the leader from the outset and would continue to do so, and said he was proud to wear the YENİ Party badge pinned on him by Özgür Özel.

Menderes mayor İlkay Çiçek remanded in custody along with nine others as CHP moves to expel him

Ten people, including İlkay Çiçek, the mayor of Menderes in İzmir province, have been remanded in custody as part of an investigation into the municipality, while six others were released subject to judicial control. The inquiry, run by the İzmir chief public prosecutor’s office, saw 16 people detained by gendarmerie teams on 4 August on suspicion of forming a criminal organisation, membership of a criminal organisation, bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents, misconduct in public office and causing unlawful development. The suspects, among them Çiçek and several of his deputy mayors, were taken to the İzmir courthouse after questioning at the provincial gendarmerie command, with 15 of the 16 referred to a magistrate with a request for remand following their statements to prosecutors. Earlier the same day, Çiçek was referred to his party’s disciplinary board with a request for permanent expulsion; CHP general secretary Rıfat Turuntay Nalbantoğlu said the conduct that had come to light was judged incompatible with the party’s principles and that proceedings had been opened on a precautionary basis.

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Below, you can watch the ongoing debates on the “Millî Dayanışma ve Toplumsal Bütünleşmenin Güçlendirilmesine Dair Kanun Teklifi” (Draft Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration):
https://x.com/iyiparti

It was a long day for me in the parliament. Tomorrow I’ll be on duty, so whether I can manage an early bulletin or not, we shall see.

⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

Four aircraft that served in forest fires in Spain and France return to Turkey

The General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) has announced that four aircraft which took part in firefighting efforts in Spain and France have completed their missions and returned to Turkey. In a statement on social media, the OGM said the four aircraft assigned to firefighting work in the two countries had successfully completed their missions and returned home, adding that since 2020 Turkey had provided 24 aircraft and 23 helicopters to eight countries and would continue to take on international responsibility in the awareness that forests are a shared value of all humanity. The directorate thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who ordered the deployment, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı, and the pilots and crew who completed their duties, and warned that fire risk persists in Turkey as across Europe, calling for caution to protect the country’s “green homeland” and shared future.

🏛️ Politics

Defence agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan

As President Erdoğan set off for Saudi Arabia on a day-long working visit, security sources have reported that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will sign a trilateral defence agreement in Jeddah today. During his contacts, Erdoğan is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with an agreement to strengthen defence cooperation between the three countries also anticipated. According to information from security sources, a defence alliance between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is expected to be signed today — a development reached after months of negotiation and diplomatic efforts and regarded as significant for preserving peace and stability in the region and the wider area.

President Erdoğan to visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Communications Director Burhanettin Duran has announced that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make a day-long working visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 August, during which he is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In a statement on social media, Duran said Erdoğan would carry out the day-long working visit on 7 August 2026, and that the president was expected to come together with the Saudi crown prince and the Pakistani prime minister within the framework of the visit.

Minister Gürlek: end of terrorism will increase the security of trade corridors

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has said that the end of terrorism will narrow the scope for external intervention and increase the security of trade corridors, energy projects and transport lines, in his assessment of the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration submitted to parliament. In a video post on social media, Gürlek said the bill aimed to strengthen social solidarity, reinforce a shared sense of belonging and eliminate the grounds on which terrorism could again be exploited. He said its provisions could only be applied once the terrorist organisation’s de facto existence had entirely ended and all weapons and ammunition under its control had been irreversibly destroyed — a determination to be made by the security institutions, confirmed by the National Security Council (MGK) and published in the Official Gazette — with a board chaired by the vice president and a monitoring commission in parliament overseeing the process. Gürlek stressed that the bill contained no provision for those who issued terror orders or killed members of the security forces, granted no one special status, and would be conducted within the framework of the constitution and the rule of law, with the sensitivities of the families of the fallen and of veterans as its fundamental measure. He described a terror-free Turkey as the shared goal of the country’s 86 million, meaning a stronger economy, democracy, investment climate and development, and said the vision extended beyond internal security to a Syria cleansed of terrorism, a more stable Iraq, a more peaceful Middle East and stronger regional cooperation. The report adds that Gürlek held two meetings the previous day — with the family of former Special Operations Department head Behçet Oktay, who want the role of FETÖ in his death re-examined, and with the family of investigative journalist Uğur Mumcu, killed in a bombing in Ankara on 24 January 1993, to discuss the latest status of and new work on the cases.

Two critical meetings for Justice Minister Gürlek: Uğur Mumcu and Behçet Oktay files on the table

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek held separate meetings with the families of Special Operations Department head Behçet Oktay and journalist Uğur Mumcu, at which requests for the re-examination of two long-disputed cases were addressed. Gürlek first met the family of former Special Operations Department head Behçet Oktay — who died in Ankara’s Dikmen district in 2009, found gravely wounded beside his car and pronounced dead in hospital — at 10am; no perpetrator was identified in the ensuing investigation, and the then prosecutor’s office issued a decision of non-prosecution for lack of sufficient evidence of another person’s intent or involvement. Oktay’s family, who maintain the death was not suicide, argue that FETÖ played a role and want the file reconsidered on that basis, with his elder brother having previously said Oktay had spoken of being “heavily pressured” and of having reached significant information about FETÖ. Gürlek’s second meeting was with the family of journalist Uğur Mumcu, killed in a 1993 car bombing, who had requested an appointment seeking the re-examination of the assassination file within the Justice Ministry and the resolution of uncertainties in the case, to which the minister responded positively.

Stay silent and you’re ‘free’: 76 violations in six months

Pressure on social opposition and interference with press freedom in Turkey have reached the level of interference with the right to freedom of expression, with the Constitutional Court (AYM) finding 76 violations of freedom of expression in the cases it examined in the first half of 2026 alone, according to a report in BirGün. The article argues that Turkey’s justice system has been badly damaged by decisions said to be taken on political grounds, that public trust in the judiciary has collapsed, and that debate over judicial independence and impartiality has deepened year on year under AKP governments. It notes that the right of individual application to the Constitutional Court, granted to citizens from 23 September 2012, has made increasingly frequent rights violations visible: a total of 85,004 rights-violation rulings were issued between 3 September 2012 and 30 June 2026, with 485 in the January–June 2026 period alone. Of these, the 76 freedom-of-expression violations found in the first half of 2026 brought the total identified since September 2012 to 4,972. The report contends that the obstructive approach to freedom of expression targets the whole of the social opposition, with journalists the most affected — many facing investigation over their journalism, and new names added each year to those imprisoned as detainees or convicts over their reporting.

Constitutional Court: failure to update trans person’s diploma details violates right to respect for private life

Turkey’s Constitutional Court (AYM) has ruled that the failure to reissue a trans man’s university diploma in line with his new identity details violated his right to respect for private life, finding that the lower and appellate courts had failed to set out sufficient reasons for rejecting his request. According to the decision published in the Official Gazette, the applicant, E.D., changed his first name by court order in 2016 and had his sex record corrected from female to male by a court decision that became final in 2018; a 2014 graduate of Bartın University’s Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, he asked for his diploma — issued with his former name and sex — to be reissued to match his new details. The university, relying on Higher Education Council regulations, said the diploma could not be reissued but that an explanatory annotation could be added, and E.D.’s case was rejected by the administrative and appellate courts. The Constitutional Court held that information about a person’s gender transition and former identity falls within the right to privacy, that the administrative and first-instance courts had not substantively assessed E.D.’s arguments but relied only on secondary legislation, and that they had failed to give relevant and sufficient reasons as to why refusing to reissue the diploma was necessary and proportionate — upsetting, to the applicant’s detriment, the balance to be struck between the public interest and his individual interest in his private life. On these grounds the court ruled that the right to respect for private life guaranteed under Article 20 of the constitution had been violated. Two members, Muhterem İnce and Ömer Çınar, dissented, arguing that the name change did not alter the applicant’s personal situation, that adding an annotation to the diploma was sufficient, and that not reissuing it did not impose an excessive burden on him.

Lieutenant İzzet Talip Akarsu, dismissed from the armed forces, backs veterans on hunger strike: ‘A martyr or veteran holds no rank!’

İzzet Talip Akarsu, a lieutenant dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces, has visited the families of fallen conscripts and the veterans protesting in Ankara’s Güvenpark for equal personal and social rights, expressing support for their cause. In a statement on social media recalling that the protesters had waited in the rain and gone on hunger strike, Akarsu said he stood shoulder to shoulder with the veterans in the park he had often passed through in his school days. He said the protesters had struggled for a long time to make their demands heard, that they had “laid themselves under the flag while still alive”, and that they summed up their wishes in a single sentence: “A martyr or veteran holds no rank.” Concluding that he was by their side, Akarsu said he stood with the veterans who are witnesses to the fallen and wished the protest’s leader, Erdem Çerçioğlu, success in their just struggle.

Minister Ersoy meets Acun Ilıcalı: they exchanged views

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has hosted the television presenter and producer Acun Ilıcalı at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, where new ideas for bringing Turkey’s cultural, artistic and tourism assets to wider audiences were discussed. The meeting, also attended by the minister’s chief adviser Tayfun Topal, addressed efforts to increase Turkey’s promotional strength in culture, art and tourism, and considered the role that media and content production could play in reaching broader audiences. In a post on social media afterwards, Ersoy said they had assessed ways to boost the country’s promotional power in these fields, examined the part media and content creation could play, and held a productive discussion on new ideas to bring Turkey’s rich cultural heritage and unique tourism assets to wide audiences, thanking Ilıcalı for his visit and his valuable input.

Second year of the stray animals regulation: what happened on the ground, and what the sides say

Two years after the amendment to the Animal Protection Law — dubbed the “massacre law” by some animal lovers — came into force on 2 August 2024, BBC Türkçe has examined the situation of stray animals, amid official figures of mass collection and disputed claims of mass killings. The regulation provides for stray animals to be gathered and cared for in shelters, and allows euthanasia for those posing a danger to human or animal health, with uncontrollable behaviour, or with contagious or incurable illness. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on 18 July that 92.35 per cent of Turkey’s stray animals had been collected, framing the policy as making streets safer and improving animal welfare, while ministry officials had earlier put the number of street dogs at around 1.25 million; the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry reported 386 shelters and 102 natural habitats with a 413,000-animal capacity as of February 2026, housing 244,000 animals. Animal rights advocates painted a grimmer picture: lawyers Deniz Tavşancıl and Tuğba Gürsoy alleged that animals were being collected brutally across the country, with many dying in vehicles from high-dose anaesthetics, overcrowding or neglect, and Gürsoy questioned how 52,000 dogs said to be collected in Ankara squared with a shelter capacity of around 13,000. Activist Alper Karmış described extreme overcrowding and high death rates in shelters he visited, citing one in Kars — a claim the municipality denied, saying no evidence supported it and that medical care was provided without delay. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality veterinary affairs head Mustafa Şener rejected claims of stacking animals in vehicles and of violence, saying its vehicles were ventilated and air-conditioned and that no collection team was sent without a vet, while arguing that complaints against municipalities were linked to donations collected by private facilities. On solutions, dog behaviour expert Gökçen Yücekaya called adoption the animals’ only route out; Tavşancıl proposed a three-year ban on animal sales; and HAYKONFED deputy head Haydar Özkan stressed neutering, warning that gathering animals without it would not stop uncontrolled breeding and calling for a law that keeps animals alive.

‘Terror-free Turkey’ emphasis at National Security Council

The National Security Council (MGK), meeting under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has assessed the progress made in work towards the goals of a “Terror-Free Turkey” and a “Terror-Free Region”, holding consultations on the subsequent stages of a process meant to make security, stability and prosperity permanent. In its written statement following the meeting at the Presidential Complex on 6 August 2026, the council said it had been briefed on activities conducted against threats to national unity and survival — chiefly the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG, FETÖ and DAESH terrorist organisations — and on recent international developments. The council said progress towards the terror-free goals constituted a historic milestone, and, on the tenth anniversary of the national resistance to the 15 July coup attempt, that measures to eliminate FETÖ entirely would be pursued carefully. It described the NATO Summit hosted by Turkey as a critical threshold for the alliance’s future, pointed to the risks of renewed Iran–US clashes spreading to regional countries and global trade routes, and called on all parties to refrain from using force and return to negotiations. The council also warned against the Russia–Ukraine war turning the Black Sea and Caspian regions into conflict zones, underlined the importance of multidimensional cooperation with Syria and Iraq, and stressed that the international community must take a clear and uncompromising stance against Israel — which, it said, continued to violate the ceasefire despite recent progress under the Gaza Peace Plan, escalated settler terror in Palestinian territories and pursued provocative attacks on holy sites including al-Aqsa Mosque.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Framework law submitted to parliament: what happens to PKK members in northern Iraq and Syria?

The framework bill, the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, has been submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office with the signatures of close to 360 MPs, and is due to be debated in committee on Friday 7 August and in the General Assembly on Sunday 9 August, raising the question of what will happen to PKK members in northern Iraq and Syria and whether their return is possible. The bill was submitted with the support of the AKP and MHP, and also signed by CHP group deputy chairs, the co-chairs, group deputy chairs and a parliamentary deputy speaker from the DEM Party, HÜDA PAR, two Yeni Yol MPs, DBP MPs and independents; the Yeni Party said it would decide after examining the text, while the İYİ Party, which did not sign and argues the bill is unconstitutional, had its proposal for a general debate rejected. A comprehensive process is expected regarding organisation members in northern Iraq and Syria. According to a report by Nefes, around 2,500 people who have severed their ties with the PKK and built jobs and families now live in northern Iraq, and the bill would open the door for their return: those living with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s permission in and around Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Salahaddin are reportedly preparing to cross via Habur to Silopi to surrender. A further 1,500 people with finalised terror convictions upheld by the Court of Cassation are said to be in northern Iraq, where the number of armed organisation members is put at 3,800, with members to hand over their weapons at centres in Sulaymaniyah and Erbil.

Erdoğan instructs AKP organisation on framework law: no general amnesty, no special status, get this across

President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described the submission of the framework bill to parliament as a “historic step” and instructed the party organisation to correctly explain the new peace process, known as “Terror-Free Turkey”, to the public, with the AKP set to take to the field across all 81 provinces from September. The Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration and the process were among the main items at the AKP central executive committee (MKYK) meeting chaired by Erdoğan, who reportedly said the process had been well managed and must be completed with the same care, and asked the organisation to meet citizens face to face to counter misunderstanding and disinformation. According to the Türkiye newspaper, the fieldwork will explain that the bill contains no general amnesty, defines no special status for individuals and excludes serious crimes, while stressing the contribution of ending terrorism to security, social solidarity, the economy and regional stability. The report notes that some MKYK members voiced concerns, while some serving in eastern provinces remarked that the PKK would never have agreed to such a settlement ten years ago and that this had come about only through Turkey’s strength and determination. It adds that MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s remark that “Selahattin Demirtaş should return home, the ‘Ahmets’ to their posts, and Öcalan attain the right to hope” was discussed, with the meeting said to hold that this statement had no connection to the framework bill and should not cause confusion.

He hadn’t signed the framework law: MHP statement on İzzet Ulvi Yönter

The MHP has issued a statement after it was noted that Istanbul MP İzzet Ulvi Yönter was absent from the list of signatories to the framework bill, which all the party’s other MPs signed following the first signature of leader Devlet Bahçeli. The Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, which forms the legal basis of the “Terror-Free Turkey” process, was submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office with 360 signatures and the MHP group’s full support, though the absence of one name drew attention. MHP group deputy chair Erkan Akçay said the party’s parliamentary group had signed the bill together with all its MPs after the leader’s first signature, and that reports in some media outlets that an MP had not signed did not reflect the truth, since the MP.

‘No investigation permission’ decision on criminal complaint against Melih Gökçek

A criminal complaint over the Tatlar Wastewater Treatment Plant — one of the files prepared by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) relating to the era of former mayor Melih Gökçek — alleging that a loan taken to renew the plant was used for purposes other than intended, has not been processed because the Interior Ministry did not grant permission to investigate, meaning another of the files against Gökçek has been removed without reaching the investigation stage. According to a report by Mustafa Bildircin in BirGün, close to 100 complaint files were prepared concerning Gökçek’s era — he was made to resign as ABB mayor in October 2017 — and sent to the prosecutor’s office by the municipality under Mansur Yavaş. The report recounts that Gökçek was granted borrowing authority by the municipal council to renew the plant, that ABB drew 536 million lira in loans under decisions in early 2009, but that the plant was not renewed despite this. Yavaş filed a complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2020, arguing that Gökçek and others had committed misconduct in office by neglecting the urgently needed revision of the plant, seriously endangering public health, and that the 536 million lira borrowed in May 2007 for a Tatlar recycled-water project was not used for the plant. The complaint sought an investigation on grounds of abuse of office and negligent pollution of the environment, but could not be processed owing to the refusal of permission to investigate Gökçek, and the long-shelved file has now been removed.

MHP’s Feti Yıldız: investigations and sentence enforcement to be postponed if weapons are surrendered

MHP deputy leader Feti Yıldız has shared the scope of the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, stating that all its measures will be carried out only after the security institutions establish that the PKK/KCK terrorist organisation and all associated formations have ended their de facto existence and surrendered all weapons and ammunition under their control, and after a National Security Council decision confirming this is published in the Official Gazette. In a post on social media setting out the text, Yıldız explained that the law would cover offences such as founding or running the organisation, membership, knowing assistance and propaganda, along with crimes committed in the course of the organisation’s activities and terrorism-financing offences committed in its favour. Under the bill, and excluding intentional killing committed within the organisation’s activity and offences committed before 1 June 2005 carrying life or aggravated life sentences, investigations and prosecutions would be postponed for five years for offences carrying up to fifteen years and for ten years for those carrying more, with the statute of limitations suspended during that period and confiscated property liquidated and recorded as Treasury revenue. The enforcement of finalised sentences would likewise be postponed — by five years for total sentences up to fifteen years and by ten years for longer or life sentences — by decision of an enforcement judge, with the sentence deemed served if the period passes without a terror offence, or enforcement resumed if one is committed. Follow-up, coordination and implementation would be handled by a board chaired by the vice president and including the justice, foreign, interior and defence ministers, the presidential general secretary, the MİT head and the National Security Council secretary-general, which could form sub-commissions, periodically assess the organisation’s complete liquidation, and request the removal of rights deprivations after two or three years depending on the postponement length. A 17-member parliamentary monitoring commission, allocated by party group proportions, would oversee the process and make recommendations, and the provisions would apply to those who notify the relevant prosecutor’s offices in writing within six months of the National Security Council decision’s publication.

Regulation on children driven to crime: provision lowering age exception from 18 to 15 removed from bill

A provision that would have lowered from 18 to 15 the age exception in applying the recidivism rules of the Turkish Penal Code has been removed from the bill, as parliament’s General Assembly adopted the first two articles of the Bill Amending the Child Protection Law and Certain Other Laws, which contains regulations on children driven to crime. Under the adopted articles, a new provision is added to the law on firearms and knives, punishing anyone who, by failing in their duty of care in storing a firearm, allows it to be obtained by a child — where the act does not constitute a more serious offence — with one to three years’ imprisonment. Under the penal code changes, those aged 12 to 15 who cannot perceive the legal meaning and consequences of their act, or whose ability to direct their behaviour is insufficiently developed, will bear no criminal responsibility but be subject to child-specific security measures; where such capacity exists, they may face 13 to 18 years for offences carrying aggravated life and 10 to 12 years for those carrying life, with other sentences halved and capped at nine years per act. For those aged 15 to 18, the ranges are 19 to 27 years and 15 to 18 years respectively, with other sentences reduced by a third and capped at 15 years per act. An adopted motion amended the age reduction for aggravated injury by result, allowing the reduction to be withheld for 15-to-18-year-olds in certain grave cases — such as intentional killing or injuries causing incurable illness, a vegetative state or death — considering factors such as the gravity of fault, motive and prior convictions, while judges are given discretion to apply the next age group’s sentencing regime to 12-to-15-year-olds. Another motion removed the third article, which would have lowered the recidivism age exception from 18 to 15. Justice Committee chair Cüneyt Yüksel said the regulation did not increase court-imposed sentences but only changed how conditional release is calculated for a limited number of serious offences, so that rehabilitation activities could be applied for a sufficient period, and aimed to prevent a perception of impunity in the child justice system and to stop children becoming more open to the influence of criminal organisations.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (New Party and others)

Yeni Party preparations in Ankara: headquarters to open its doors on 30 August

Renovation is under way at the headquarters of the Yeni Party — founded by Özgür Özel together with 91 MPs who left the CHP — in Ankara’s Mustafa Kemal neighbourhood, with the eight-storey building, previously used by the Future Party, due to be ready for its opening on 30 August. Interior and exterior work is nearing completion; the building, said to have a monthly rent of more than 4 million lira with the first payment due in October, has had its water and gas connections finished, while final electrical work continues and the party sign will be hung once the facade is done. According to a report in the Türkiye newspaper, the building — comprising a ground floor, three basements and four upper floors — has around 100 rooms, conference and meeting halls, office and executive floors, a canteen and an indoor car park, with furniture to be brought in gradually from next week. The third-floor office previously used by Ahmet Davutoğlu has been allocated to Özel, while a work area for the press is being prepared on the ground floor along with a meeting hall arranged for Party Council and Central Executive Committee meetings. The building, whose official opening is planned for 30 August, is about two kilometres from the CHP headquarters and within walking distance of the İYİ Party and DEVA Party headquarters.

SONAR poll: Yeni Party’s vote share revealed

The latest poll by the SONAR research company has measured the Yeni Party as the leading party on 34.3 per cent, with the AKP second on 30.2 per cent and the CHP — under its “absolute nullity” leadership — on 5 per cent. In response to the question of which party respondents would vote for in a general election this Sunday, the Yeni Party, led by Özgür Özel and founded two weeks earlier, was measured at 24.1 per cent before undecided voters were distributed and 34.3 per cent afterwards. The full shares were: Özel’s new party 34.3 per cent, AKP 30.2 per cent, DEM Party 8.5 per cent, İYİ Party 7 per cent, MHP 5.1 per cent, CHP 5 per cent, Anahtar Party 2.6 per cent and Zafer Party 2.3 per cent. The report notes that a SONAR poll on 18 June, before the party was founded, had put the vote share of the new party Özel was expected to form at 26 per cent. On early elections, 59.4 per cent of respondents said a general election should be held ahead of schedule, while 32.9 per cent said it should not.

New party, new alliance: is the İYİ Party the obstacle to the framework law — and what is the AKP afraid of?

A framework bill forming part of the government’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” process has reached parliament, and this Yeniçağ column argues that it has set Ankara’s political corridors buzzing. Drafted, the writer says, on the basis of a report prepared by the National Intelligence Organisation and not seen by MPs, the bill is characterised in the piece as opening the door to a general amnesty for the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the organisation’s members. The İYİ Party, the column notes, has taken the clearest line of any party by refusing to nominate members to the parliamentary commission, with its leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu holding a series of “Flag Rallies”, while the Communist Party of Türkiye is presented as the most outspoken party on the left. Attention has now turned to the newly formed YENİ Party — several of whose founders sat on the commission as CHP members — and to three days of visible indecision, attributed in the piece to Özgür Özel and his advisers, over whether to sign the bill; the column suggests the party’s hesitation stems from the prospect of an electoral alliance with the İYİ Party should a return to the CHP prove impossible, since Dervişoğlu would be unlikely to ally with a party carrying such a signature. On the government side, the writer claims the AKP’s central worry is the perception of a general amnesty: lawyers cited in an earlier column of the author’s are said to warn that a measure applying only to PKK members would breach the constitution’s equality principle and could be widened to benefit those convicted in the FETÖ cases. President Erdoğan is reported to have instructed the party’s central executive to complete the process with the same care, sending organisations out to meet voters face to face and stress that the framework contains no general amnesty, confers no special personal status and excludes serious offences. The column closes by recalling a September 2025 piece by Sedat Bozkurt reporting talk that Öcalan was preparing to found a new party, and by citing Prof. Dr. İzzet Özgenç, a former legal adviser to Erdoğan, who has written that the measure amounts to an amnesty law.

Third wave of arrests hits Kuşadası town hall as MP’s daughter and son-in-law detained

Fifteen people have been detained in a third round of raids targeting Kuşadası municipality in Aydın province, among them Ezgi Tezcan Yaşar and Umut Yaşar — respectively the daughter and son-in-law of YENİ Party MP for Aydın Bülent Tezcan, both of whom are lawyers. The operation forms part of a bribery and extortion inquiry run by the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office, the same investigation under which Kuşadası’s CHP mayor, Ömer Günel, was detained on the morning of 13 March and remanded in custody three days later on charges of bribery and abuse of office. In its statement, the prosecutor’s office said reasonable suspicion that the offences had been committed had been established on the basis of witness testimony, statements given by suspects under effective remorse provisions, telephone call records and account movements examined in reports drawn up by the financial crimes board MASAK. Simultaneous detentions, searches and seizures were carried out on 7 August 2026 across İzmir, Antalya and Aydın in relation to twenty-one named suspects, among them the mayor’s private secretary, a former deputy mayor, a CHP council member, and a range of construction and hotel proprietors, business figures and professionals, of whom fifteen were apprehended, with arrest warrants issued for a further seven.

Avcılar mayor Çaykara ordered released in Aziz İhsan Aktaş bribery case

A court has ordered the release of Utku Caner Çaykara, mayor of the Istanbul district of Avcılar, who had been held on remand as part of the investigation into Aziz İhsan Aktaş. The decision came during a review of detention in the case in which 200 defendants are standing trial, following an indictment alleging that a criminal organisation said to be led by Aktaş orchestrated tender processes by paying bribes to mayors. Istanbul’s 1st High Criminal Court ruled that five defendants — Celal Tekin, Ceyhan Kayhan, Erhan Daka, Oya Tekin and Rıza Akpolat — should each remain in custody, citing the nature of the alleged offences, the state of the evidence, concrete material pointing to strong suspicion of guilt, the length of sentence in prospect, a strong risk of flight, and its assessment that judicial control measures would be insufficient under the principle of proportionality. In the cases of Özcan Zenger and Çaykara, however, the court found that continued detention would no longer be proportionate given the time already served and the health problems set out in petitions from the defendants and their counsel and evident during hearings, and ordered both freed subject to judicial control, provided they are not held or convicted in connection with any other offence.

Menderes Mayor Among 16 Referred to Court in İzmir Corruption Investigation

Authorities in İzmir have referred 16 suspects, including Menderes Mayor İlkay Çiçek, to court following their detention as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and misconduct in public office. The probe, led by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, concerns allegations including forming and participating in a criminal organisation, bribery, extortion by a public official, forgery of official documents, abuse of office and planning-related offences. The suspects were detained during coordinated operations earlier this week, with one deputy mayor arrested separately in a subsequent operation involving intelligence and gendarmerie units. All 16 have now been transferred to the courthouse as judicial proceedings continue.

15 Detained in Third Wave of Kuşadası Municipality Corruption Investigation

Turkish authorities have detained 15 people and issued arrest warrants for a further seven as part of the third phase of an investigation into alleged bribery and extortion linked to Kuşadası Municipality. The operation, coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, was carried out simultaneously across İzmir, Aydın and Antalya, following an investigation based on witness testimony, financial intelligence reports and communications records. Among those named are Kuşadası Municipality’s Chief of Staff Şebnem Kars Şenol, former deputy mayor Oğuzhan Turan, a municipal councillor, lawyers and several business figures. The daughter and son-in-law of Aydın MP Bülent Tezcan, both lawyers representing the suspended Kuşadası Mayor Ömer Günel, are also subject to detention orders but are currently abroad. Tezcan dismissed the investigation as politically motivated, while the municipality said public services remain unaffected and called for respect for due process and the presumption of innocence.

Gezi Convict Tayfun Kahraman Marks Daughter’s Seventh Birthday with Emotional Message

Tayfun Kahraman, who is serving a prison sentence in connection with the Gezi Park trial, has shared a heartfelt birthday message for his daughter, Vera, as she turned seven. In a post on social media, Kahraman reflected on how her birth had given his life greater meaning and said her presence had been a source of strength during difficult times. Acknowledging the family’s prolonged separation, he wrote that although life had subjected them to the hardship of being apart, it had also taught them the value of being together. He ended the message by wishing Vera a happy birthday and thanking her for bringing joy and hope into his life.

Two Remanded in Custody as İzmir Municipality Procurement Investigation Widens

Two suspects, including Hür Ağbaba, the brother of Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba, have been remanded in custody as part of an investigation into alleged bid-rigging linked to İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. According to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, prosecutors are examining claims that procurement offences were carried out by an organised group. Hür Ağbaba and Ferat Yetişsin were detained after investigators identified alleged links to the already imprisoned general manager of the municipal company Egeşehir. Following police questioning, both suspects were brought before a criminal court of peace, which ordered their pre-trial detention. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing.

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⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

President Erdoğan files complaint against FETÖ assassination-team member Burkay Karatepe

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s lawyer, Hüseyin Aydın, has submitted a complaint to the Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against Burkay Karatepe — a FETÖ member who took part in the attempt on Erdoğan’s life in Marmaris during the 15 July 2016 coup attempt and was recently caught after ten years on a red notice — and those who helped him. The complaint requests that Karatepe and those who assisted him during his time as a fugitive be investigated and prosecuted on charges of assassinating the president, violating the constitution, undermining the unity of the state and the country’s integrity, membership of a terrorist organisation, and harbouring a criminal. It recalls that, as part of the coup attempt carried out by FETÖ members, a group including Karatepe conducted a military operation against Erdoğan, who was in Marmaris at the time, and argues that Karatepe attempted — on the instructions of the organisation’s leader Fetullah Gülen — to eliminate Erdoğan, the first popularly elected president who under the constitution represents the unity of the state and nation. The complaint states that Erdoğan is filing against the suspect both over the acts directed at his person and over those aimed at the unity of the Republic and the Turkish nation, as well as against those who provided shelter and assistance to prevent his capture over the intervening ten years.

New development in Gülistan Doku investigation: two divers who found note and scissors at dam arrested

Two underwater divers who stated that they found a note and a pair of scissors during searches of a reservoir have been arrested on a charge of “tampering with evidence” in the investigation into Gülistan Doku, the university student who disappeared in Dersim on 5 January 2020. In the inquiry conducted by the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a record dated 8 January 2020 noted that wet fragments of paper found in the reservoir bore a prescription made out in Doku’s name and the legible phrase that “psychological pressure was being created on us”, while a further record dated 10 January 2020 stated that a roughly 14-centimetre pair of scissors had been found in the same area. An expert report added to the file assessed that it was physically impossible for the paper fragments to have remained intact for a long period at a depth of around 14 metres without being carried off by the water’s current, and a forensic examination into how and by what process the evidence was found was launched following these findings. The two divers whose statements were taken were subsequently arrested by the court and sent to prison.

‘Conspiracy’ claim over detained former governor Sonel: alleged to have targeted then-Adıyaman governor Çuhadar to have him removed

A new allegation has been made against Tuncay Sonel, the former Tunceli governor detained as part of the Gülistan Doku investigation, claiming that he worked with a former police officer, Gökhan Ertok, to target the then-Adıyaman governor Mahmut Çuhadar through bot accounts on social media in an effort to have him removed from office. According to a report in Sözcü, Sonel — who served as coordinating governor in Adıyaman after the 6 February earthquakes — is alleged to have sought Çuhadar’s dismissal, using bot account operations organised via Ertok to try to undermine him and generating thousands of “Adıyaman governor resign” posts in an attempt to build public pressure on him. Çuhadar later left his post and stated that his resignation was due to health problems.

Beyaz TV presenter Tahir Sarıkaya, detained in Cem Küçük investigation: I used a crypto account because interest is forbidden

The prosecutor’s statement of Beyaz TV presenter Tahir Sarıkaya, detained in the investigation into journalist Cem Küçük, has emerged, in which he said he used a cryptocurrency account “because interest is forbidden” and claimed money transfers he made to Northern Cyprus were for “entertainment-purpose gaming”. Sarıkaya, the first person to be arrested in the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into Küçük, was detained on a charge of “blackmail” after the prosecution identified high-value, unexplained inflows into his bank accounts, some of which it found had been transferred to crypto-asset accounts. In his statement, Sarıkaya confirmed receiving money 21 times from Fatih Eke and 64 times from Serdar Özyurt, claiming these were payments for advertising, promotion and social media posts, but rejected as inaccurate a figure of 27.569 million lira across 320 transactions identified in his crypto account, denying any money-laundering purpose. He said he had handed 720,000 lira sent by businessman Cihan Ekşioğlu to another person at a hotel in Ankara, that he had organised meetings between Küçük and certain businesspeople and lawyers, and, while denying any direct money exchange with musician Haluk Levent or any earnings from “Nigella Coin”, said he had received 100,000 lira from Levent as a “scholarship” for his son’s school expenses. He also confirmed more than 300 transfers with İsmail Çanak, private secretary to Özyurt, attributing them to family relations and event appearances, and stated he had never used drugs or introduced men and women for gain. The article recalls that Cem Küçük was arrested on 31 July on charges of “publicly spreading misleading information” and “blackmail”, that the prosecution identified 537,800 lira in transfers across 27 transactions between Küçük and Sarıkaya, and that a secret witness alleged Sarıkaya managed Küçük’s money flows, claims Küçük rejected, saying their transactions were only debt and event payments.

Operation against Ay Group crime organisation in Istanbul: 12 suspects caught

Twelve suspects have been detained in an operation against the armed criminal organisation known as the “Ay Group”, found to have been involved in numerous armed incidents in Istanbul including the shooting and arson of businesses. In investigations coordinated by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the organisation was found responsible for an attempted murder in Esenler on 20 July, an arson attack on a car dealership in Beşiktaş on 22 July, an arson attack on a restaurant in Sarıyer on 29 July, and a shooting at a car dealership in Kağıthane on 2 August. Acting on the prosecutor’s instructions, Istanbul police units carried out simultaneous raids at addresses identified for the capture of the organisation’s members, detaining 12 suspects, one of them under the age of 18. Searches of the suspects’ homes and workplaces yielded two unlicensed firearms, a hand grenade and two bulletproof vests, and the suspects’ processing at police headquarters is continuing.

Turks’ rate of online shopping rises by 4.3 points

Internet use among 16-to-74-year-olds in Turkey has reached 92.3 per cent this year, according to the results of the Turkish Statistical Institute’s Household Information Technologies Usage Survey 2026. The figure — up from 90.9 per cent last year in the same age group — stood at 94.8 per cent among men and 89.9 per cent among women. The rate of buying or ordering goods or services online for private use (e-commerce) rose from 55.7 per cent in 2025 to 60 per cent this year, at 63.4 per cent among men and 56.6 per cent among women, with 48.3 per cent of individuals having bought or ordered something in the last three months. The use of online public services stood at 76 per cent, highest among 25-to-34-year-olds at 93 per cent and lowest among 65-to-74-year-olds at 31.3 per cent, with accessing one’s own personal data held by authorities the leading purpose at 65.6 per cent. The share engaging in online learning for educational, professional or private purposes in the last three months rose by 5.2 points to 22.9 per cent. The most-used social media and messaging apps were WhatsApp at 90 per cent, YouTube at 77.6 per cent and Instagram at 71.1 per cent. Among internet-connected devices, internet-linked TVs led at 62 per cent, followed by connected home appliances at 18.6 per cent and wearables at 16.7 per cent. When buying a phone, tablet or computer, individuals rated price the most important feature at 89.3 per cent, ahead of hardware specifications at 74.7 per cent, energy efficiency at 69.9 per cent, and brand, design or size at 69.5 per cent.

Some roads in Istanbul’s Üsküdar to be closed to traffic

Some roads in Üsküdar are to be closed to traffic for an event to be held on 5–7 August. According to a statement from the Istanbul Police Department, the roads to be closed and the alternative routes have been set for the event taking place in Üsküdar today, tomorrow and on 7 August. All roads between the junction of Çengelköy Avenue and Kerime Hatun Camii Street and the junction of Kuleli Avenue and Yamaçlı Street, along with Çengelköy Hamam Arkası Street and Fıçı Street, will be closed to vehicle traffic from 11pm until the end of each programme. For the direction of Kuleli Avenue, drivers can use Kerime Hatun Camii, Kemalettin Tuğcu, Hür, Meşrutiyet, Havacı, Albay Üçer and Yamaçlı streets, while those heading towards Beylerbeyi Avenue will be directed to Yamaçlı, Albay Üçer, Havacı, Meşrutiyet, Şekip Ayhan Özışık and Mor Salkım streets, as well as Yalnız Selvi, Kaldırım, Zübeyde Hanım, Prof. Dr. Beynun Akyavaş and Güzeltepe avenues.

Ship traffic on the Bosphorus suspended in both directions

Ship traffic on the Bosphorus has been suspended in both directions after a Panama-flagged dry cargo ship broke down. In a statement, the General Directorate of Coastal Safety said the vessel, which had entered the strait from the north, had malfunctioned and was turned back northwards at the Büyükdere area before being taken to the Kilyos anchorage accompanied by the tugboats Kurtarma-11 and Kurtarma-3. Ship traffic on the Bosphorus was suspended in both directions owing to the rescue operation for the vessel, named “Vela Prime”.

🏛️ Politics

Erdoğan’s terror-free Turkey message: it will cement our national unity

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration has been submitted to the Grand National Assembly, saying it aims to permanently rid Turkey of the terror threat and to strengthen national unity and togetherness. In a post on social media, Erdoğan said the bill — drawn up following comprehensive consultations — had been presented to parliament with broad agreement reflecting the nation’s will for a solution, and expressed his hope that this step, aimed at freeing Turkey permanently from the terror threat, cementing national unity and strengthening a climate of peace in the country and the region, would prove auspicious. He thanked the political party groups and MPs who had contributed both to finalising the bill and to the success of the process, chief among them his People’s Alliance partner, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli.

Yılmaz’s message of unity: onward with the goal of a terror-free Turkey

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said that the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration has been submitted to the Grand National Assembly, stating that the government will continue working for democracy, development and social unity with the aim of a terror-free Turkey in line with the “Turkish Century” vision. In a post on social media, Yılmaz said the bill had been presented to parliament with signatures reflecting broad agreement, wished it well, and expressed hope for the country’s continued peace and brotherhood. He said that, under the president’s leadership and with the “Turkish Century” vision, the government would continue to raise its standards on the path of democracy and development in a terror-free Turkey, and to thwart what he called imperialist traps in the region through a strong domestic front.

Supreme Military Council decisions: 63 generals and admirals sent into retirement

Under the decisions taken at the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting, two generals were retired owing to age limits and 61 generals and admirals owing to a lack of posts. Chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidency, the meeting — attended by the vice president, several ministers and the force commanders — addressed promotions, appointments, retirements and extensions of service within the Turkish Armed Forces. According to the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, the term of Naval Forces Commander Ercüment Tatlıoğlu was extended by a further year, a third such extension, while Air Forces Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu was retired owing to a lack of posts and Combat Air Force Commander General Rafet Dalkıran was appointed Air Forces Commander. With the decisions, the number of generals and admirals will rise from 328 to 334 as of 30 August. Effective from that date, 25 generals and admirals were promoted a rank and 69 colonels raised to general or admiral rank, while the terms of 24 generals were extended by a year and those of 530 colonels by two years. The two age-limit retirements take effect from 1 September and the 61 lack-of-posts retirements from 30 August. The article also lists the individual officers promoted, including Lieutenant General Erdoğan Gür to general and several major generals and rear admirals raised a rank across the land, naval and air forces.

17 million households to use domestic natural gas

Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, has said that domestic production, international energy partnerships and the goal of becoming a regional hub for energy trade sit at the heart of the country’s new-era strategy for strengthening its energy supply security. Bayraktar said production at the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea was being increased as planned, reaching 20 million cubic metres a day by the end of 2026 — enough for around 8 million households — with a 2028 target of 40–45 million cubic metres a day, at which point some 17 million households would be supplied with gas from Turkey’s own field. He noted that the Osman Gazi floating production platform was due to leave Filyos at the end of September for the Sakarya field, where it would support production for around 20 years, and that oil production at the Gabar field in Şırnak had risen to 83,200 barrels a day, setting new records. Turning to energy agreements with Iraq, Bayraktar said Turkish Petroleum had become a partner in significant Kirkuk oil fields after roughly 100 years, that fields with a reserve potential of around 3 billion barrels would be developed with international partners, and that the reactivated Iraq–Turkey pipeline aimed initially to carry 750,000 barrels a day to Ceyhan, with capacity potentially rising to 2–2.5 million barrels and the line possibly extended to Basra. He said cooperation with Iraq — welcomed by President Erdoğan — also covered electricity, gas and infrastructure, with bilateral trade potentially reaching 30–35 billion dollars in the medium term, and that projects were under way to carry Iraqi and Gulf gas to Europe via Turkey, aided by its high-pressure transmission line of over 20,000 kilometres and 220,000-kilometre urban network. Bayraktar also cited exploration efforts in countries from Somalia and Bulgaria to Libya, Pakistan and Azerbaijan, said the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant’s first unit aimed to produce its first test electricity by year’s end, and noted that gas storage capacity had reached 6.3–6.5 billion cubic metres — around 45 days of household consumption at peak winter — with a medium-term target of 12–13 billion.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

MHP’s Yıldız on the framework law: it will pass with over 430 votes

MHP deputy leader Feti Yıldız has said that the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration was submitted to the Grand National Assembly with the signatures of 360 MPs, and that it appears set to become law early next week with more than 430 votes in favour. In a statement on social media, Yıldız described the bill as one prepared with painstaking care, taking into account national and international high-court case law, doctrinal debates and examples around the world, and defining the framework of a model specific to Turkey. He said the law would enter into force after the security institutions had established that the PKK/KCK terrorist organisation and all associated formations had ended their de facto existence and surrendered all weapons and ammunition under their control, and after a National Security Council decision confirming this determination was published in the Official Gazette.

Ali Babacan’s statement on the framework law

DEVA Party leader Ali Babacan has said that the framework law does not sufficiently observe the principle of equality before the law, calling for its shortcomings to be remedied in committee. In a post on social media, and criticising the failure to share the text of the bill with the political party groups, Babacan said his party regarded the submission to parliament of a bill aimed at completing the dissolution and liquidation of the PKK/KCK terrorist organisation in all its elements, and the surrender of all weapons and ammunition under its control, as an important and positive stage, and welcomed the bill’s broad conformity with the sixth section of the jointly signed parliamentary commission report. He said, however, that he did not consider it right to collect signatures behind closed doors without presenting a final text in so vital a process, arguing that social legitimacy could only be secured through transparency, consultation and full respect for the will of parliament. Babacan called the bill’s failure to observe equality before the law — and its differing treatment of individuals — a significant shortcoming, saying the complete exclusion of other detainees, convicts and defendants in similar legal circumstances weakened the sense of justice, and expressing hope this would be remedied in committee. Reminding the government of the need to take the steps set out in the seventh section of the commission report on law, justice, democracy and freedoms, he said DEVA would continue to defend both a Turkey free of terror and violence and an understanding of resolution that made no concessions on the rule of law and equality. The report notes that the bill, prepared jointly by the AKP and MHP, was submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office the previous day with the signatures of 360 MPs from the AKP, MHP, CHP, DEM Party, HÜDA PAR and Yeni Yol groups, including parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.

Legal scholar İzzet Özgenç warns Erdoğan: new bill grants PKK leaders amnesty without investigation

Professor İzzet Özgenç, a criminal law authority also known as a legal adviser to President Erdoğan, has sharply criticised the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration submitted to parliament on 5 August, warning that passing it in its current form would drag the state towards disaster. In an open letter to the president shared on his personal X account, Özgenç argued that the draft effectively offers terrorist organisation leaders a “conditional general amnesty”. He contended that, under the bill, those who had long directed the organisation’s activities from “Kandil” could be released without any investigation or restriction of rights and take up public office through election or appointment, and that an “enforcement judge”, at the request of a proposed Board, could allow PKK-member convicts to hold public office before their supervision period ended — turning what was framed as a special pardon into a general amnesty for some. Özgenç also warned that, although intentional killing is excluded from the bill’s scope, those who led the organisation during a period in which thousands of defenceless people were killed — and during the kidnapping and prolonged hostage-taking of many public officials — could be released without any investigation into whether they directly participated in such crimes. He further argued that the bill contained a legal contradiction in its implicit exception concerning PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan — since those who committed the offence of undermining the unity of the state from 1 June 2005 onwards could benefit while those who committed it earlier could not — criticised a provision removing all consequences of rights deprivation during the supervision period as incompatible with the legal system, and noted that the bill strikingly contained no provision on the fate of the assets under the PKK’s control.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (New Party and others)

Özel on the framework law: no change in our approach, but wrong in procedure

Yeni Party leader Özgür Özel has said there is no change in his party’s political approach to the framework law but that it has been handled in an extremely wrong way in terms of procedure and manner. The Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office to determine how the judicial and enforcement side of the process will be conducted, runs to 12 articles and provides for a five- or ten-year postponement of PKK/KCK-related investigations, cases and the execution of finalised prison sentences, without an automatic release or direct amnesty: the state must first establish that weapons have been surrendered, a National Security Council decision confirming this must be published in the Official Gazette, and those concerned must apply in writing within six months. Speaking to YetkinReport, Özel said no joint work had been carried out in preparing the bill, that the AK Party had collected signatures from its group on blank pages and sent the text to the party groups in a sealed envelope at midday, and that while his party’s delegation was still copying the text to begin its meeting, the AK Party had delivered it to the speaker’s office within half an hour — something he called contrary to the spirit of the matter, even as MPs remained free to contribute in committee. Özel reiterated his party’s reservation that the sixth and seventh sections of the commission report — the former on the penal code, the latter on democratisation, from complying with Constitutional Court and ECHR rulings to ending the trustee (”kayyım”) practice — should proceed intertwined rather than one after the other, and urged that the seventh section be prepared swiftly during the period before the surrender of weapons is confirmed. Resolving the Kurdish question, he argued, could not be achieved with the sixth section alone: while the sixth might be the technical end of one process, the seventh should be the beginning of a democratic process, of peace and of a shared future for Kurds and Turks, since an enforcement arrangement removes some consequences but not the underlying cause. He added that his party’s criminal-law experts and lawyer MPs also had technical criticisms of the bill, which they would raise separately.

Got it — no file. From now on I’ll give the headline and single-paragraph summary right here in chat, with “align justify” noted as a standing instruction (the text will wrap normally on screen, since justification only renders in an actual document).

Prosecutors draw up summary of proceedings against Yeni Party leader Özel: ‘They want to stoke anxieties’

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has announced that a summary of proceedings (”fezleke”) has been prepared against Yeni Party leader Özgür Özel on a charge of “bribery”, alleging that Özel — together with Yeni Party Malatya MP Veli Ağbaba — took bribes on a continuing basis. According to the prosecution, Özel abused his influence and authority to secure his re-nomination as a candidate for the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in the local elections, obtaining benefits on various dates from Muhittin Böcek and his son Mustafa Gökhan Böcek, whether directly or indirectly through Ağbaba, and also obtained material benefit from Uşak mayor Özkan Yalım for use at the CHP congress; the summary was drawn up seeking the lifting of Özel’s immunity and sent to the Justice Ministry. Yeni Party figures, noting that the announcement came on the evening of the party’s first group meeting and coincided with its founding and membership campaign, cast it as intimidation designed to stoke public anxieties that the party could face an operation, that Özel could be arrested, or that donations could be seized — arguing that the tactic was backfiring, with the public rallying behind them, since it is the public that funds and houses the party. MPs including Seyit Torun, Gamze Taşcıer and Ordu MP colleagues linked the move to the party’s rise and to what they called efforts to silence the opposition since 19 March, stressing there was no concrete evidence. Group deputy chair Ali Mahir Başarır raised the matter in parliament, complaining that even advisers were being refused copies of the summaries while parts of the press published them in disregard of the presumption of innocence, and deputy speaker Tekin Bingöl, after conferring with group deputy chairs, said he would raise the issue with speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, describing the situation as having gone completely off the rails and noting that 56 summaries would not be sent to a party leader.

İYİ Party calls for framework law to be returned: it is unconstitutional

The İYİ Party has called for the framework bill submitted to parliament as part of the peace process — the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration — to be returned to its sponsors, arguing that it is unconstitutional. In a petition to the parliamentary speaker’s office signed by group deputy chairs Turhan Çömez and Uğur Poyraz, the party said its preliminary examination had found the bill to contain clear violations of the constitution’s procedural and formal rules on the legislative process, as well as of the parliamentary rules of procedure, the Turkish Penal Code, the Anti-Terror Law and the Law on the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism. Contending that the speaker’s office is not merely an administrative body that refers bills to committees but bears responsibility for preventing clearly unconstitutional proposals from entering the legislative process, the party argued that parliament must not become a platform on which a “treacherous terrorist structure” is legitimised under the guise of legislation. It said the bill introduced special and privileged provisions for the leaders and members of the PKK/KCK — over founding and running a terrorist organisation, issuing execution orders, membership and other offences — that differ from the current penal and anti-terror laws, and that a terrorist organisation’s expected surrender of weapons was itself a consequence of that organisation achieving its political and ideological aims. Citing the organisation’s alleged attempt to overthrow the government under Article 312 of the penal code and accusations of genocide and assimilation in its so-called dissolution declaration of 12 May 2025, the petition argued that preparing, signing and submitting such a bill breached the general principles of the constitution — including articles on the qualities of the Republic, the integrity of the state, sovereignty, legislative and judicial power, equality before the law, the binding force and supremacy of the constitution, and the prohibition on abusing fundamental rights — and asked that the bill be returned to its sponsors without being processed.

First operation targeting Yeni Party: Manisa provincial chair detained

İlksen Özalper, the Yeni Party’s Manisa provincial chair, has been detained as part of an ongoing investigation, in what is the first operation directed at a Yeni Party politician. According to information obtained, Özalper was detained by police and processing at police headquarters is continuing. Yeni Party Manisa MP Ahmet Vehbi Bakırlıoğlu reacted to the incident on social media, writing that their provincial chair Özalper had been detained — “first Demirhan, then Cem and Anıl, and now İlksen Özalper” — and saying the party knew what the aim was and was aware of a “dirty game”, vowing that their struggle would continue to the end and that “Chair İlksen is not alone”.

Dedetaş’s message after vote: ‘Sometimes the best answers are given without talking too much’

Sinem Dedetaş, the detained Üsküdar mayor suspended from office, has congratulated CHP member Sibel Tan Çetinkaya on being elected acting mayor by the municipal council, writing on social media that “sometimes the best answers are given without talking too much” and adding: “Thank you Üsküdar, congratulations Chair Sibel!” The council convened to choose an acting mayor after Dedetaş was arrested and suspended by the Interior Ministry, with the CHP’s Çetinkaya standing against the People’s Alliance candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin. Çetinkaya led the first two rounds with 26 votes to Gültekin’s 16, but the required qualified majority was not reached; a fall in her votes and a rise in invalid ballots in the third round caused tensions among CHP council members that were captured on camera and prompted a break, after which she was elected in the fourth round with 22 votes to Gültekin’s 18. Çetinkaya said they would continue the struggle until Dedetaş returned to office, describing her as a “Republican woman” who does not fear, and pledging to return the public’s trust untarnished. The report recalls that Dedetaş, her private secretary, an architect and a contractor were detained in a 29 July operation and arrested over allegations of “bribery” and “establishing and running a criminal organisation”, with the prosecution alleging that Dedetaş led a profit-oriented crime organisation, took money in exchange for occupancy permits, directed all processes on her own instructions, and forced contractors to sign contracts with the municipal company Kent A.Ş. The prosecutor’s office said the investigation began following tip-offs, victim statements and the accounts of suspects benefiting from effective remorse provisions, and alleged that consultancy contracts worth a total of about 1.079 billion lira were signed, of which some 361 million lira had been collected.

Acting mayor chosen at Üsküdar Municipality

The CHP’s candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya has been elected acting mayor of Üsküdar by the municipal council, following the arrest of mayor Sinem Dedetaş. Dedetaş had been arrested on Friday evening as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Anatolia Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and suspended from office by the Interior Ministry. Çetinkaya won the roughly five-hour election, marked at times by rising tension and disputes, taking 22 of the valid votes in the fourth round against 18 for the People’s Alliance candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin. Speaking outside the municipality afterwards, Yeni Party Istanbul founding provincial chair Özgür Çelik accused members of the ruling party of trying to override the national will by using the power of state institutions to organise the vote. Çelik gave a round-by-round account, saying Çetinkaya had led the first two rounds 26 to 17 and 26 to 16, but that in the third round “threats, pressure and blackmail” came into play as part of what he called an “insidious plan” — including scheduling the vote for 8am, which he said had never been done in Istanbul before — with council members and their families allegedly threatened between operations, and various offers and figures discussed, before Çetinkaya was elected in the fourth round with 22 votes to 18. The report recalls that Dedetaş and three others were arrested in a 29 July operation over allegations of bribery and running a criminal organisation.

Menderes deputy mayor Rüzgar Sönmez detained

Rüzgar Sönmez, deputy mayor of Menderes, who was subject to an arrest warrant in the investigation into Menderes Municipality, has been detained. In a statement, the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the operation to detain Sönmez — who had been sought as a fugitive — was carried out by JASAT units of the provincial gendarmerie command with support from the MİT intelligence service and police intelligence. The prosecutor’s office had launched an operation against the municipality the previous day as part of a “bribery” and “extortion” investigation, detaining mayor İlkay Çiçek, council members Emre Pala and Ferdi Hepyılmaz, and numerous municipal staff. The investigation was reportedly begun following a tip-off alleging irregularities involving certain properties in the Menderes district, and a social media message in which Çiçek is said to have stated that he took his share not himself but through his driver was assessed as evidence that he had committed bribery, while voice recordings of the zoning director are also in the file. According to the prosecutor’s statement, 16 suspects were identified — including the mayor — on charges including establishing and belonging to a criminal organisation, bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents, abuse of office and causing zoning pollution; 13 were detained in the simultaneous operation, with efforts continuing to catch three others.

Lüleburgaz mayor Murat Gerenli announces resignation from CHP

Murat Gerenli, mayor of Lüleburgaz, has announced that he is resigning from the CHP, citing developments that “began with the absolute nullity process” and the recent appointments made to the party’s Kırklareli provincial organisation as his reasons. In a statement on social media, Gerenli said he was leaving the CHP because these developments did not accord with his principles, values and understanding of political ethics, and pledged to continue serving the people of Lüleburgaz — as he had promised on first taking office — in the light of Atatürk’s principles and reforms, committed to the universal values of social democracy, and with a transparent and accountable approach.

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Dubai-Based Oasis Prime in Talks to Acquire Controlling Stake in Turkey’s Kervansaray Investment Holding

Kervansaray Investment Holding, a Turkish company founded in 1976 and listed on Borsa Istanbul, has entered a potential change-of-control process after majority shareholder Zeynep Tümer began negotiations to sell her 62.06% stake to Dubai-based Oasis Prime-FZCO. The proposed transaction could transfer management control to the new investor and, based on the company’s latest closing share price, may be valued at approximately TRY 3.5 billion. The development follows a remarkable six-month rally in Kervansaray shares, which have surged about 375%, while Oasis Prime describes itself as a sustainability-focused company operating in the agriculture and energy sectors.

Turkey’s Auto Market Posts First Sharp Contraction of 2026 as July Sales Plunge 25%

Turkey’s passenger car and light commercial vehicle market recorded its first major downturn of 2026, with July sales falling 25% year over year as high interest rates and restricted access to auto financing weighed on demand. According to the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association (ODMD), total vehicle sales declined 10.7% in the first seven months of the year to 638,965 units, while passenger car sales dropped 12.1%. Despite the slowdown, SUV models continued to dominate demand, accounting for 65.5% of passenger car sales. ODMD Chairman Hakan Tiftik warned that, without improvements in financing conditions and consumer demand, the industry’s target of reaching 1.2 million vehicle sales in 2026 is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.

🏛️ Politics

Study Finds Low HPV Awareness and Vaccination Rates Among Turkish University Students

A new study of 275 university students in Turkey found significant gaps in knowledge about human papillomavirus (HPV) and low vaccination uptake despite widespread awareness of the vaccine. Nearly one in five respondents said they did not know what HPV is, two-thirds had never received sexual health education, and only 9.5% had been vaccinated against HPV, even though 84.7% had heard of the vaccine. The study also found that 18.2% of students reported their first sexual experience at age 18 or younger, with the internet serving as the primary source of HPV information. Researchers concluded that expanding sexual health education, improving access to reliable HPV information, and increasing vaccine awareness are essential to reducing future risks of HPV-related diseases.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Turkish Parliament Speaker Signs National Unity Framework Bill

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has signed the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion, a framework bill aimed at promoting national unity. The proposal was first signed by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, alongside MHP lawmakers Feti Yıldız, Celal Adan, Erkan Akçay, and Filiz Kılıç. Parliament also announced that the ruling AK Party, the New Party, the main opposition CHP, and the New Path parliamentary group will be formally briefed on the legislation as part of an effort to ensure transparency and broad political consensus.

Reported Dispute Over Political Ban in Turkey’s Peace Process Resolved After Öcalan Intervention

According to Turkish media reports citing political sources, negotiations over a proposed legal framework for the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative encountered a disagreement between the ruling AK Party and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party regarding individuals in Europe alleged to have ties to the now-dissolved PKK. The reports claim DEM Party opposed provisions that could impose political bans on these individuals, arguing many have long been engaged in legal civil society and political activities abroad. The reported impasse was allegedly resolved after imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan urged participants not to focus on procedural details, saying remaining issues could be addressed over time. The claims have not been officially confirmed by the parties involved.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (New Party and others)

Turkey’s New Party Pledges to Voluntarily Follow GRECO Anti-Corruption Standards

Turkey’s newly established New Party has pledged to voluntarily comply with the anti-corruption standards of the Council of Europe’s Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), even though many of those rules have not been fully implemented in Turkish law. Party leader Özgür Özel said the commitment would apply to the party’s lawmakers, mayors, and local officials, covering areas such as transparency, asset declarations, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and political ethics. He also criticized successive governments for failing to enact reforms recommended by GRECO, arguing that stronger anti-corruption measures and judicial independence are essential for improving governance and advancing Turkey’s alignment with European standards.

Turkish Prosecutors Seek to Lift Immunity of New Party Leader Özgür Özel and MP Veli Ağbaba

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has prepared parliamentary immunity dossiers (fezlekes) seeking the removal of the legislative immunity of New Party leader and MP Özgür Özel and MP Veli Ağbaba over allegations of “repeated bribery.” Prosecutors allege that Özel and Ağbaba obtained financial benefits in connection with local election candidate selection and other political activities, claims that reference Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek, his son Mustafa Gökhan Böcek, and Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım. The dossiers have been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, initiating the parliamentary process that could ultimately lead to a vote on lifting their immunity. The allegations have not been adjudicated in court, and any prosecution would require the completion of the constitutional immunity procedure.

X Challenges Turkish Court Order Blocking İmamoğlu’s Presidential Campaign Account

Social media platform X has filed a legal appeal against a Turkish court order that blocked access within Turkey to the “Presidential Candidate Office” account associated with suspended and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The platform said it complied with the order—which cited national security, public order, and crime prevention under Article 8/A of Turkey’s internet law—to avoid potential penalties, including bandwidth restrictions, but is contesting the decision in court and has published the ruling in the interest of transparency. X also noted that a separate appeal against an earlier access restriction on another İmamoğlu-linked account remains pending before Turkey’s Constitutional Court, reiterating its commitment to challenging content restrictions it believes conflict with freedom of expression and access to information.

Detained Istanbul Mayor Sinem Dedetaş Says She Rejected Offer That Could Have Kept Her Out of Jail

Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, who is being held in pretrial detention, told Zafer Party leader Ümit Özdağ during a prison visit that she had received an unspecified offer before her detention that, if accepted, would have prevented her imprisonment. According to Özdağ, Dedetaş said she rejected the proposal because she believed elected officials have a duty to honor the mandate given by voters until the end of their term. She also denied any risk of fleeing or tampering with evidence, arguing that she had previously returned to Turkey after traveling abroad during the investigation and that prosecutors had already seized the relevant evidence. Özdağ criticized the detention, describing it as politically motivated and alleging unequal application of the law.

Brother of New Party MP Veli Ağbaba Detained in İzmir Municipal Corruption Probe

Turkish authorities have detained Hür Ağbaba, the brother of New Party lawmaker Veli Ağbaba, along with another individual as part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. Prosecutors allege the two detainees acted in coordination with Süleyman Ekinci, the previously arrested general manager of Egeşehir. The detentions were carried out in Diyarbakır and Malatya, and both individuals remain in police custody while the investigation continues. No formal charges or court rulings have yet been announced.

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Heatwave across the country: thermometers to hit 43 degrees

A heatwave is set to persist across Turkey, according to the latest forecasts from the General Directorate of Meteorology, with no significant change in temperatures expected. Readings will hover around seasonal norms in most areas but rise above them in places in the south and east. The day’s highest temperatures are expected in south-eastern Anatolia, with thermometers forecast to reach 43 degrees in Şanlıurfa, 42 in Diyarbakır and 41 in Siirt, alongside 39 degrees in Malatya and Denizli, 38 in Mardin, and 37 in İzmir, Manisa and Muğla. Summer heat will also continue in the major cities, with 32 degrees expected in Istanbul, 34 in Ankara and Bursa, 33 in Antalya and 35 in Adana. In the north, meanwhile, partly to heavily cloudy weather is expected, with local showers and thunderstorms around Rize, Artvin and Ardahan, the inland parts of Sinop, Samsun, Giresun and Trabzon, and the Taurus Mountains, while most of the country will see clear to slightly cloudy skies.

Extortion under the name of ‘street rights’: gang shot up premises of those who refused to pay

Simultaneous operations have been carried out in Istanbul, Antalya and Yalova against a criminal organisation found to have extorted businesspeople under the name of “street rights” and to have been involved in 16 separate armed incidents, with 23 people detained. In the investigation by the Istanbul Anatolia Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Bureau, the suspects were found to have committed offences including establishing an organisation for the purpose of committing crime, aggravated robbery, damaging property, attempted murder and violating the firearms law. Technical surveillance and security camera footage established that the suspects called and messaged businesspeople across Istanbul from foreign mobile lines demanding money as “street rights”, and that they shot at and tried to burn down the premises of those who refused to pay, looted businesses and attempted to kill some of the victims. The operation targeted 31 of a total of 36 people found to have been involved in the 16 incidents, five of whom were already in custody; 23 were detained in the raids, while efforts to catch eight suspects still at large are continuing.

🏛️ Politics

President Erdoğan holds talks with Bin Salman

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to a statement from the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, the call addressed bilateral relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as well as regional and global issues. Erdoğan expressed Turkey’s sorrow over attacks directed at Saudi Arabia and said the country was working towards the establishment of lasting peace and the prevalence of calm and stability in the region. He added that Israel’s strict adherence to the road map for the second phase of the Gaza Peace Plan was essential to the plan’s success, and that Turkey was following developments very closely.

AKP holds framework law talks in parliament: Güler meets DEM delegation, then MHP’s Yıldız

AKP group chair Abdullah Güler and deputy group chair Abdulhamit Gül have held final consultations on the draft framework law with the legal representatives of political parties before it is submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office. The AKP has opened the bill for its MPs to sign, asking all of them to sign in full by 5pm tomorrow, and Güler met representatives of every party with a group in parliament to brief them on its content, on the understanding that the draft text itself would not be shared. HÜDA PAR’s Şehzade Demir and Serkan Ramanlı came first, saying afterwards that they had been briefed and would share the information with their leader Fatih Erbakan and the party’s relevant bodies. A DEM Party group — including deputy co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan, İmralı delegation member and Asrın Law Office lawyer Faik Özgür Erol, and MPs Meral Danış Beştaş and Nevroz Uysal Aslan — then held roughly two and a half hours of final talks, after which the delegation did not take questions, with Danış Beştaş remarking only that everything was in the press anyway; MHP deputy chair for legal affairs Feti Yıldız followed. The bill, planned to run to 10–12 articles, is expected to be submitted on Wednesday, with the aim of taking it through the Justice Committee and the General Assembly this week without waiting for the usual two-day period, and an advisory board meeting tomorrow is to seek agreement with the other parties. Debate continues over “probation” (”denetimli serbestlik”) and the “deprivation of rights” under Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code: AKP officials stressed the two are separate concepts, said probation is already provided for in law as a matter of right and so not open to dispute, and indicated that work is ongoing on how and for what periods the deprivation of rights under Article 53 would apply to those already convicted, noting that the restoration of forfeited rights can currently be sought three years after the completion of a sentence and that a regulation on these periods would be made.

Interior Minister Çiftçi sets a date: new-generation crime organisations to be rendered unable to act by year’s end

Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has said that a large proportion of what he variously called drug gangs, new-generation crime organisations, criminal gangs or “street bandits” will be rendered unable to carry out attacks by the end of the year. Speaking at an event in Istanbul organised by the Eurasia Strategic Research Foundation (ASAV) and attended by the Northern Cyprus transport minister Erhan Arıklı, Çiftçi said the Interior Ministry touched citizens’ lives at every turn, and that on taking office he had set two main goals: combating new-generation organised crime and drugs. He said an increase in operations, together with the determined efforts of the police, gendarmerie, courts and Justice Ministry, had significantly reduced the number of such groups, putting the number operating nationally at 11, most of which had been dismantled. Recounting a wide-ranging operation against one such organisation in Adana in April, in which around 300 suspects were arrested, Çiftçi said the group had been completely dismantled and that three people it had sent to Adana to carry out a revenge attack on a public institution had themselves been targeted in an operation, asking rhetorically who could measure up against the state and predicting the same fate for the others by year’s end. He noted that some of these organisations operated alongside foreign intelligence services, which used them for various actions, and that they also targeted citizens abroad — shooting at businesses and burning vehicles — vowing that the fight would continue wherever they were, at home and abroad.

Turkey, Qatar and Egypt condemn Israel

Turkey, Qatar and Egypt have issued a joint statement as mediating countries strongly condemning Israeli violations in Gaza that they say are causing civilian casualties and constitute a clear breach of international law. The three countries denounced continuing violations in the Gaza Strip — particularly those targeting health facilities and medical infrastructure and causing civilian casualties, including women and children — as a clear breach of both international law and international humanitarian law. Noting that the persistence of such violations, coming after Hamas and Palestinian groups had declared their acceptance of the road map and in particular its provision on limiting weapons, breached the agreement and undermined efforts to implement its second phase, the mediators stressed that Israel must comply with all its obligations under international law and fully meet its commitments under the ceasefire agreement. They warned that the violations threatened the de-escalation process and further aggravated the plight of civilians in Gaza, and reiterated their calls for the full protection of civilians, health facilities and humanitarian personnel and for the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid and medical supplies throughout the strip. Calling on the international community to take responsibility and apply the necessary pressure for Israel to fulfil its obligations so as to complete US President Donald Trump’s peace plan — which Trump had described as a “historic agreement” in reaching consensus on the second-phase road map — the mediators said efforts towards a lasting ceasefire and a sustainable de-escalation must not be derailed.

Minister Gürlek announces citizenship of 687 people to be revoked

Turkey’s Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has announced an operation against a criminal organisation accused of obtaining Turkish citizenship for foreign nationals by using fake appraisal reports to present low-value properties as high-value ones. According to the allegations in the İstanbul-based investigation, coordinated by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Organised Crime Investigation Bureau, cheap real estate was made to appear valuable through fraudulent appraisals, and collusive sale transactions over these properties were used to secure Turkish citizenship for foreign nationals. Investigators determined that around 2.5 billion lira that should have entered the country was not brought in, that false money movements were created, and that 687 foreign nationals gained citizenship by this method. Detention orders were issued for 90 suspects, and 72 were caught in operations across 16 provinces centred on İstanbul. Trustees were appointed to seven companies, and 1,045 properties, a hotel in Bodrum, 15 vehicles, a yacht and 10 bank accounts were seized. Gürlek said work had begun to revoke the Turkish citizenship of those found to have obtained it improperly, congratulated the prosecutor’s office and police units involved, and pledged that all the means of the law would be used against structures that harm the state, abuse citizenship law and secure unjust gains.

All eyes on the Supreme Military Council meeting: number of generals and admirals may rise, force command changes on the agenda

The Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) has convened under the chairmanship of President and AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, having first visited Atatürk’s mausoleum at Anıtkabir, to take decisions on promotions, appointments, retirements and extensions of service within the Turkish Armed Forces. The number of generals and admirals, which fell below 200 following dismissals after the 15 July coup attempt, is expected to be raised above 230 this year, according to a report in the Türkiye newspaper. The meeting at the Presidential Complex was attended by council members including Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler, Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Air Forces Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu and Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel. The council will consider the files of colonels being promoted to general or admiral rank and of generals and admirals rising a further rank, determine which personnel are to be retired owing to a lack of posts or age limits, and is expected to weigh possible changes of assignment within the force commands. The decisions will be made public after Erdoğan’s approval.

MİT chief Kalın meets Hamas political bureau head Hayye

The head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MİT), İbrahim Kalın, has met the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khalil al-Hayye, and his accompanying delegation in Istanbul. According to information obtained, the meeting touched on the road map prepared for the transition to the second phase of the Gaza Peace Plan, with Hamas’s positive approach to it underlined. Concern was voiced that Israel, rather than responding to the road map, had stepped up its attacks on Gaza, and it was stressed that the international community needed to act to halt Israeli aggression without delay. The talks also covered Israel’s continued violation of the Palestinian people’s rights in the West Bank and Jerusalem, drawing attention to ongoing illegal settlement activity and a sharp rise in settler violence, as well as the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with Turkey reaffirming that it stood by Gaza in both the political process and the improvement of humanitarian aid. Turkey’s efforts to mobilise the international community to end Israel’s killings in Gaza, prevent violations of Palestinian rights in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and increase humanitarian aid were highlighted, along with the joint efforts of Turkey, Qatar and Egypt to secure peace in Gaza. The Hamas delegation conveyed its thanks to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for Turkey’s efforts to date.

First Turkish school in Syria to teach from nursery to university level

Pre-registration has begun for the first international Turkish school to be established in the Syrian capital, Damascus, which is to provide education from nursery level upwards. Turkey’s Embassy in Syria announced that work on opening the Damascus International Turkish School was continuing, with the school planned to cover all levels of education from nursery to the final year of high school, and that pre-registration had been opened to determine the school’s capacity, gauge student demand and plan classes. The pre-registration form asks about the student’s nationality — with options for Turkish citizen, Syrian citizen, dual citizen and other — as well as whether the student speaks Turkish, whether they have studied in Turkey, and their parents’ occupations, while noting that pre-registration does not amount to definitive enrolment. Turkey’s ambassador to Damascus, Nuh Yılmaz, thanked the Syrian foreign and national education ministries for their support. According to the Ministry of National Education’s 2025 activity report, Turkey has 65 such schools across 13 countries — most of them to its east, predominantly in Saudi Arabia, and to the west in Moldova, Romania and Belgium — while the more informal Turkey Maarif Foundation carries out educational activities in 66 countries. Through such schools, the article notes, countries aim both to secure continuity of education for their own citizens and, through cultural diplomacy, to build a long-term sphere of soft power in the regions where they operate.

Photographer Bennu Gerede detained

Photographer Bennu Gerede has been detained as part of an investigation opened on a charge of “obscenity”. The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had launched an ex officio investigation into Gerede under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, over remarks she made on a YouTube programme about a necklace she wore around her neck, which she described as a “portable vibrator”, and had issued a detention order. A request has also been made to block access to the YouTube channel on which she appeared, so that the video subject to the investigation will not be viewable from Turkey.

Cumhuriyet columnist Ağırel: IQ Money indictment lays bare a wide-ranging scandal

Cumhuriyet columnist Murat Ağırel has written that the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against IQ Money Ödeme Hizmetleri ve Elektronik Para AŞ, though it looks at first glance like an illegal betting operation, exposes a broad scandal stretching from the company’s capital structure and licensing process through bank audits to money flows running into hundreds of billions of lira. According to Ağırel, the indictment alleges that the start-up capital required to operate as a payment institution was not in fact paid in full at once: although KPMG and sworn financial adviser reports stated that the sole shareholder Ferkan Çelik had paid the capital in cash and in full — on which basis the Central Bank granted an operating licence — the Central Bank’s audit report and bank records indicated the 6 million lira shown as capital was deposited and withdrawn in successive amounts under 1.5 million lira, with no balance even remaining in the account by 28 November 2019. He wrote that, contrary to official documents crediting the entire capital to Çelik, bank records showed 3.3 million lira had been paid by Nuran Duran and Mustafa Duran — in effect hidden partners — and that a similar cycle recurred in 2021, making what the indictment calls “capital collusion” systematic. Ağırel also noted that, despite a written declaration to the Central Bank that there was no link between Mustafa Duran and the company, Duran was appointed chairman of the board around a year and eight months later, that documents to verify a “London School of Economics” education on his résumé could not be produced, and that banks including Ziraat, Akbank, Şekerbank, QNB and VakıfBank had ended their commercial relationships with the firm on similar grounds — features, he wrote, of what international literature calls a “shell merchant”. The indictment further alleges, according to Ağırel, that money continued to flow through the company even after its operating licence was revoked, with a transaction volume of around 124 billion lira identified across just 23 people and companies examined, a figure said to exceed 155 billion lira once certain e-commerce companies are included.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Devlet Bahçeli signs framework law proposal

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has signed the framework law proposal drawn up as part of the PKK’s dissolution process, which is to be titled “Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration” and is aimed to be submitted to the Grand National Assembly this week. The proposal was signed alongside Bahçeli by MHP deputy leader Feti Yıldız, deputy parliamentary speaker and MHP Istanbul MP Celal Adan, and MHP deputy group chairs Erkan Akçay and Filiz Kılıç, with the party’s other MPs expected to add their signatures during the day. The framework law had been opened for signature by the AKP group the previous day, on 3 August, and it is hoped it will be submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office with the joint signatures of political parties.

Bakırhan on the framework law: the threshold of a new era

DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan has described the framework law expected to be submitted to parliament this week as the threshold of a new era that will replace weapons with politics and conflict with law, urging that it be turned into the beginning of a democratic journey. Speaking at his party’s weekly parliamentary group meeting, Bakırhan argued that a Turkey that does not resolve its own Kurdish question through democratic means and negotiation cannot offer lasting peace and stability in the Middle East — and would not be believed if it tried — and said the country now had a chance to play a shaping rather than a watching role as a new order takes form in the region. Calling Kurds one of the most critical forces in the twenty-first-century Middle East and an ancient people who see the region as their home, he said Turkey should regard a strategic relationship with them as a great democratic opportunity rather than sacrificing it to “Kurdophobia” and security reflexes, and should trust in the thousand-year horizon of Turkish-Kurdish relations. Turning to the bill, to be submitted under the title “Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration”, Bakırhan acknowledged that a single piece of legislation could not lift the entire political and social burden of a century-old problem in a day, but said it would carry the matter from the ground of violence to that of politics and law and open the door to a period in which obstacles before democratic politics would be removed. He said the will shown by Bahçeli on 22 October, the peace perspective drawn by Öcalan on 27 February, Erdoğan’s will and the opposition’s support offered Turkey a chance to break a century-long vicious cycle that might not easily come again, and — recalling his delegation’s positive meeting with Öcalan on İmralı and Öcalan’s remark that a thousand-kilometre road begins with a single step — said it was now time to bind these historic steps in law.

Name of the ‘framework law’ proposal revealed

The name of the “framework law” proposal relating to the PKK’s dissolution process, which it is hoped will be submitted to the Grand National Assembly with joint signatures, has become clear: it is to be titled “Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration”. The aim is to submit the regulation to the parliamentary speaker’s office with the joint signatures of the political parties, though if the groups do not sign jointly, there is a possibility it will be submitted with the signatures of the AKP and MHP groups alone. The proposal is expected to be submitted to parliament this week and then to come before the Justice Committee and the General Assembly. It was opened for MPs’ signatures in the AKP group the previous day, on 3 August, with the group leadership asking that it be signed by 5pm today, 4 August, and the AKP is to hold contacts with political parties and give a preliminary briefing before it is submitted. The report also recalls that the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation had, following their meeting with Abdullah Öcalan on Sunday 2 August, shared his note that Turkey stood at the start of a democratisation process that would be no less important than the founding of the Republic.

Framework law summit in parliament: MHP’s Feti Yıldız says ‘We’re agreed, no hitches’

Attention in the AK Party’s work on the framework law in parliament has turned to its People’s Alliance partner, the MHP, after the party’s deputy leader for legal affairs, Feti Yıldız, said “We’re agreed, there are no hitches” on the issues of deprivation of rights and probation. AK Party group chair Abdullah Güler and deputy group chair Abdulhamit Gül met representatives of political parties over the draft framework law, first the HÜDA PAR and DEM Party delegations and then Yıldız. After roughly an hour of talks with Güler, Yıldız gave that reply when journalists asked whether the bill would be issued with joint signatures and whether agreement had been reached on the “deprivation of rights” and “probation” questions.

I’ll note that this article touches on veterans continuing a hunger strike with distressing rhetoric (”either you’ll kill us...”); I’ve reported it factually as the news account presents it.

Veterans on vigil in Güvenpark reject AKP’s bill as insufficient: ‘Either you’ll kill us...’

Veterans who have kept a 22-day vigil in Ankara’s Güvenpark and began a hunger strike yesterday morning have rejected as insufficient the bill on the rights of the fallen soldiers’ families and veterans that the AK Party announced it had submitted to the parliamentary speaker’s office. Announcing the bill at a late-evening press conference alongside National Defence Committee chair Hulusi Akar, AKP deputy group chair Abdulhamit Gül said the People’s Alliance measure — the product of two years’ work — aimed to address the problems of military personnel including conscripts, intelligence and police staff, security guards and military students, setting out provisions on a minimum income guarantee for the parents of the fallen, monthly payments and “veteran” status for those wounded but not classed as disabled, enhanced home-care support, and an increase in the retirement age limit for the disabled from 41 to 55. Speaking for the veterans, Er Şehit and Veterans Platform spokesman Erdem Çerçioğlu said the bill met none of their demands, insisting they sought equivalent personal rights rather than money or pay rises, and voicing unease that granting “veteran” status under Law No. 1005 — which applies to those who fought another state, as with Cyprus and Korea veterans — might indirectly amount to recognising a terrorist organisation as a state. Declaring “either you’ll kill us, or you’ll give us our rights”, Çerçioğlu said the group, including severely disabled members, was continuing its hunger strike on only tea and water and would not leave the square. He also rejected claims of representation in parliament, saying a man some outlets had identified as the platform’s president had no connection to it and did not represent them, and that neither he nor those keeping vigil had been invited to parliament. The article adds that Özgür Özel and MPs of the newly formed YENİ Party submitted two separate bills of their own, proposing improvements to payments for the parents of the fallen, equivalent-salary rights for the families of fallen conscripts and for veterans, bonuses on commemorative days, and the re-establishment of the Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA).

If you or someone you know is struggling, this is a heavy topic — and if any of it touches your own situation, I’m happy to help you find appropriate support resources.

Şamil Tayyar’s striking message on Tahir Sarıkaya: ‘If he talks, there’ll be an earthquake in the media’

Beyaz TV presenter and journalist Tahir Sarıkaya has been detained as part of the “Cem Küçük” investigation conducted by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Following his detention, former AK Party MP Şamil Tayyar posted a striking message on social media, writing that Sarıkaya had been detained and that if he talked there would be “an earthquake in the media” — adding that it would be no bad thing.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (Özgür Özel’s New Party and others)

Yeni Party’s minimum wage move: raise net pay to 45,800 lira, with Treasury bearing the premium burden

The Yeni Party has submitted a bill to parliament proposing that the net minimum wage — set at 28,075 lira for 2026 — be raised to 45,800 lira from 1 August to the end of the year, with part of the social security premiums to be met by the Treasury to ease the burden of the increase on employers. Signed by party leader Özgür Özel and deputy group chairs Murat Emir, Gökhan Günaydın and Ali Mahir Başarır, the bill was assigned to the Plan and Budget Committee as its main committee. Its justification argues that the current net minimum wage falls below the 36,940 lira hunger threshold for a family of four, and that cumulative inflation of 19.86 per cent over the first seven months of the year has rapidly eroded workers’ purchasing power; it proposes a net wage of 45,800 lira and a gross daily wage of 1,775.91 lira for the 1 August–31 December 2026 period. To prevent job losses, the bill provides for tiered premium support graded by workforce size — daily amounts of 393.36 lira for businesses with 1–10 employees, 321.62 lira for those with 11–50, and 250.05 lira for those with more than 51, with a flat 393.36 lira for the textile, clothing and leather sectors regardless of size — all to be met by the Treasury over August to December. The bill’s justification estimates an additional public cost of around 1.63 trillion lira, while arguing that the rise would stimulate domestic demand and production, increase registered employment and generate roughly 1 trillion lira in extra public revenue, with the changes taking effect from 1 August 2026 if passed.

Lawyers for detained Beylikdüzü mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık apply to Constitutional Court

Lawyers for the detained Beylikdüzü mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık have made an individual application to the Constitutional Court, arguing that their client’s roughly 500-day detention violates his right to personal liberty and security under Article 19 of the Constitution. In a social media statement announcing the application, Çalık’s lawyer Melih Koçkan said the long-running detention lacked legal basis, that decisions to continue it did not contain sufficient and concrete grounds, and that no individualised assessment specific to Çalık had been made. The lawyers contended that decisions to continue detention had been issued for all the detained defendants in similar and general terms, that uncertainties remained over the charges, and that detention reviews had not been subject to effective judicial oversight. They also argued that, although Çalık was held on a single charge that does not fall among the “catalogue” offences listed in the third paragraph of Article 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, his detention had nonetheless been continued in breach of the principle of proportionality. The statement stressed that this application is separate from an earlier individual application concerning Çalık’s health and right to life, which remains under examination before the Constitutional Court, and called for the long detention to be assessed under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights and for the application to be examined as a matter of urgency.

Operation targets Menderes Municipality in İzmir: mayor İlkay Çiçek detained

An operation was carried out early in the morning against Menderes Municipality in İzmir as part of an investigation coordinated by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, with detention orders issued for 16 people including mayor İlkay Çiçek, of whom 13 have been caught. According to information obtained, efforts to catch the remaining three suspects are continuing, and the investigation is being pursued on charges including establishing an organisation for the purpose of committing crime, membership of such an organisation, bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents, abuse of office and causing zoning pollution. Those subject to detention orders are said to include, alongside the mayor, deputy mayors Mesut Taşdemir and Rüzgar Sönmez, the zoning and urbanisation director İbrahim Yalçın, the plan and project director Durmuş Baran, the building control director Ömer Er Yılmaz and the acting plan and project director Burak Uçak, as well as some municipal council members and members of the public. Çiçek’s home was searched during the operation, gendarmerie teams continued gathering evidence at the municipality building, and extensive security measures were taken around it. The report notes that this is the fourth operation targeting mayors in the city, following recent operations against the Buca, Seferihisar and Güzelbahçe municipalities. It adds that allegations concerning certain WhatsApp messages made public in recent months had previously come to the fore regarding Çiçek, who had denied the messages were his and claimed the content had been generated by artificial intelligence.

Erdal Beşikçioğlu suspended from office

The Interior Ministry has suspended Etimesgut mayor Erdal Beşikçioğlu from office as an interim measure following his arrest as part of an investigation into him. In its statement, the ministry noted that Beşikçioğlu was under investigation on charges of establishing an organisation for the purpose of committing crime, rigging the performance of contracts, rigging public tenders, and extortion, embezzlement and taking bribes through coercion. Stating that he had been arrested by decision of the Ankara West 2nd Magistrate’s Court the previous day, the ministry said he had been suspended by the Interior Ministry as a temporary measure under Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of Municipal Law No. 5393.

Nasuh Mahruki, detained over 15 July post: inferring ‘theatre’ from my words is bad-faith reading and slander

Nasuh Mahruki, the former head of the AKUT search and rescue association who was detained over a social media post about the 15 July coup attempt, has said that inferring from his words that he called the attempt “theatre” amounts to a bad-faith reading and slander. According to Cumhuriyet’s Çağdaş Bayraktar, Mahruki — detained on 17 July on a charge of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility or denigration” — described the prison conditions he faced, saying he spent his first three days in a temporary ward built for 12 but holding 25, where he counted more than 200 bedbug bites on his body, before being moved to a 48-capacity ward holding around 55 where conditions were good. Recalling that he is the grandson of a fallen soldier, Mahruki said the prosecution’s statement that he had called the coup attempt “theatre” was an insult, given that more than 250 citizens were killed in the uprising. He said he had argued — and was not alone in doing so — that measures could have been taken earlier against the terrorist organisation behind the attempt, and that to infer the word “theatre” from this was a bad-faith reading and slander; he said he wanted to believe there were judges in Istanbul and Ankara and that he would emerge with his honour intact. An indictment against him seeks up to four years and six months in prison.

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⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

Investigation launched into journalist Ertuğrul Özkök

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an ex officio investigation into journalist Ertuğrul Özkök on a charge of “insulting the President”, over remarks he made on a television programme. In its statement, the office said the investigation had been initiated of its own accord following the comments Özkök made during the broadcast. Özkök has previously faced legal proceedings on allegations of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: indictments prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2015 claimed he had insulted the president in columns published in the Hürriyet newspaper on 22 October and 3 September 2015, with prison sentences of between one year and four months and five years and four months sought across two separate files.

Some Istanbul roads to be closed to traffic for 14 days

Some roads in Istanbul are to be closed to traffic for 14 days in connection with events to be held at the Yenikapı venue. According to a statement from the Istanbul Police Department, the roads to be closed and the alternative routes have been set for the programmes at the Fatih Yenikapı Event Area, running from today until 16 August with the exception of 3–10 August. Under the arrangement, from midday until the end of each programme, the closures will affect the north and south side roads along the coast at the Kadir Topbaş Show Centre junction, the Vefa Karakurdu overpass, and the minor road in the inner section between the Yenikapı rally area and the Yenikapı İDO terminal. Motorists can use the coastal Kennedy Avenue as an alternative route.

🏛️ Politics

Foreign Ministry issues sharp rebuke to Israel

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly criticised Israel’s attacks on Gaza, saying they show that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no will to make peace with the Palestinians and that his sole aim is to drive Palestinians from their homeland and obstruct the establishment of peace and stability in the region. In a statement, the ministry said that Israel’s killing of more than 30 civilians and targeting of health facilities in Gaza — coming immediately after agreement had been reached on a road map for implementing the Gaza Peace Plan — once again demonstrated the Netanyahu government’s lack of any intention to make peace, and that Israel had not shied away from steps that would upset the region’s fragile balances or from undermining the efforts of mediating countries, chief among them the United States. The ministry stressed that it had become imperative for the international community to adopt a more determined, consistent and forceful stance against what it called Netanyahu’s “expansionist and militarist mindset”, which it said sought to turn the whole of the Middle East into a zone of conflict, and called on all countries supporting peace and prosperity for the region and Palestine to act with a sense of shared responsibility and to uphold international law and humanitarian values.

Supreme Military Council to convene, with number of generals and admirals expected to rise

The Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) is to convene tomorrow at the Beştepe presidential complex under the chairmanship of President and AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to take decisions on promotions, appointments, retirements and extensions of service within the Turkish Armed Forces. According to a report in the Türkiye newspaper, the number of generals and admirals — which fell below 200 following dismissals after the 15 July coup attempt — is to be raised above 230 this year. Meeting after a visit to Anıtkabir, the council will for the first time include Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel. It will consider the files of colonels being promoted to general or admiral rank and of generals and admirals rising a further rank, determine which personnel are to be retired owing to a lack of posts or age limits, and is expected to weigh possible changes of assignment within the force commands. The decisions will be made public after Erdoğan’s approval.

Unmanned aerial vehicle found in field in Kastamonu

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been found by local residents in a field in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu. The owner of the field who discovered the drone reported it to the 112 emergency call centre, and teams dispatched to the area carried out an examination before removing the UAV from the site for further inspection. It is thought to have come down after losing its communications link.

Animal rights defenders protest ‘massacre law’ in Kadıköy: ‘We will push every limit to have it repealed’

Animal rights defenders took to the streets of Kadıköy to mark the second anniversary of the passing of Law No. 7527 — dubbed the “massacre law” by its opponents — which governs the treatment of stray animals, holding simultaneous demonstrations outside the Süreyya Opera House and the Eminönü ferry pier to demand its repeal. Protesters who gathered at Mehmet Ayvalıtaş Park marched to the opera house chanting slogans calling for the law to be withdrawn and for both dogs and children to be protected. In a statement on behalf of the “We Will Keep Them Alive Here” platform, campaigners drew attention to animal deaths over the two years since the law’s passage, alleging that cats and dogs across the country — in Erzincan, Konya, Gebze, Ümraniye, Düzce and Silivri among other places — had been poisoned, thrown into pits and killed while still alive, and said their anger was undimmed towards those who had proposed the law, those who voted for it, and the main opposition which, they claimed, had implemented it in practice despite opposing it. Arguing that the real danger on the streets was not animals but “unrestrained fascists” and misogynists, they vowed to push every limit to have the law annulled and to keep building public support for new legislation that would let animals live. In a separate press statement outside the Eminönü pier, the Law for Life Initiative and representatives of various associations also called for the law’s withdrawal, contending that a “vaccinate, neuter, let live in place” principle had given way, under the guise of euthanasia, to a “award the tender, extract the profit; round up, slaughter” method that turned the exploitation of animals into capitalist profit. Noting that species such as pigeons, crows and gulls were also being demonised alongside cats and dogs, the initiative said sterile cities ringed by secure luxury estates were being created that left no room for animals or for ordinary people, and pledged to struggle for an equal, free and ecological society free of cages and exploitation.

A first for Turkish transport: Turkish-made locomotive exported to Africa

Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, has announced that the country’s first domestically designed and produced diesel-electric shunting locomotive, the DE 10000, built by the state rail systems manufacturer TÜRASAŞ, has set off for Tanzania. Describing it as another milestone for Turkey’s home-grown railway industry, the minister said the locomotive — manufactured with a 90 per cent local content rate at TÜRASAŞ’s Eskişehir regional directorate — had been sent off to join Tanzania’s railway fleet, marking the first time such a vehicle has been offered to international markets rather than serving domestic needs alone. Brought from Eskişehir to the Derince Port in Kocaeli, the locomotive was dispatched by ship on Wednesday 29 July and will reach the port of Dar es Salaam after a sea voyage of some 3,946 nautical miles (7,308 kilometres). Uraloğlu added that the DE 10000 uses the “Özgün Motor”, the first domestic diesel engine of more than 1,000 horsepower, developed by TÜRASAŞ and TÜBİTAK under the TÜBİTAK KAMAG project, whose intellectual property rights belong entirely to Turkey and which has now been exported on a domestic locomotive platform for the first time.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Minister Göktaş announces expansion of rights for families of the fallen and veterans

Turkey’s Minister of Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, has announced that the government aims to bring in wide-ranging new legislation on the rights of the relatives of fallen soldiers (”şehit”) and of veterans, with the AK Party and its ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) set to submit a joint bill to the parliamentary speaker’s office this week in the hope that it will be debated in the coming days. Speaking at a human rights training camp organised by the AK Party’s human rights directorate in the Başiskele district of Kocaeli, Göktaş said the relatives of the fallen and veterans were a trust bequeathed by the nation and owed a great debt of loyalty, noting that many measures protecting and supporting their rights had been introduced over the past 24 years under President Erdoğan’s leadership, including a comprehensive regulation in 2013. She said the new bill, far more extensive than a mere twelve articles, had emerged from some two years of consultations coordinated by her ministry and chaired by parliament’s National Defence Committee chair Hulusi Akar, and was intended to address long-standing demands ranging from the parents of the fallen to conscript veterans, including matters of personal entitlements, and to those affected she offered her good wishes.

Arınç to Davutoğlu: you should have stayed in the AK Party, loyal to our leader

Former parliamentary speaker Bülent Arınç has published a message of thanks to Ahmet Davutoğlu, who announced that he is withdrawing from politics and closing his Future Party, while telling him he should have remained within the AK Party rather than founding a rival to it. Arınç said he personally found Davutoğlu’s decision — to continue working in fields such as thought, education, science, culture and diplomacy — sound and wished him well, adding that he considered the matters raised in Davutoğlu’s comprehensive statement to be very important. Recalling nearly six years of working alongside him — from a 2005 Islamic summit in Mecca through cabinet posts from 2009, and a year and a half serving as deputy prime minister and government spokesman under Davutoğlu when the latter became AK Party leader and prime minister after Erdoğan’s 2014 election as president — Arınç described him as a learned, analytical, patriotic and principled thinker respected abroad, and thanked both him and his wife Sare for their service. Arınç said he had ethically opposed Davutoğlu’s founding of a party in opposition to the AK Party, which he called “our home”, built together, arguing that Davutoğlu should have stayed loyal to their leader and exercised his rights of criticism and suggestion to the full under that roof. He suggested the experience had been an important one for Turkey’s political history and for Davutoğlu personally, and — placing him second only to the late Necmettin Erbakan among the “two hocas” of their political tradition — again thanked him and wished him and his family health and happiness.

Bahçeli on the framework law: it must be given full support

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has said that the “Terror-Free Turkey” process has reached an important threshold in its law-making stage, arguing that the matter should be seen as above party politics and that the framework law must be given full support. In an interview with the Türkgün newspaper, Bahçeli described the policy as a historic and irreversible step to break what he called the chains of an exploitative order imposed by “Western thought”, framing it as a state policy that prioritised common sense and social consensus, was closed to external impositions, and would strengthen a thousand-year brotherhood for generations to come. He contended that critics of the policy — while claiming to speak for the nation — were serving as instruments in a proxy struggle waged by global and hegemonic powers, and that some raised objections not out of genuine sensitivity but out of a desire to obstruct progress, fearing the loss of political capital once terrorism was resolved at its roots; no such “political game”, he insisted, would turn the movement back. Defending the MHP against what he called baseless labelling, Bahçeli said the party had never been involved in any activity harmful to the country and cast the initiative as a historic responsibility for which it had put itself on the line. He argued that the moment to seek a solution comes not at the peak of violence but during a period of ideological and existential crisis for the organisation, and that Turkey had now reached the stage of eradicating terrorism at its roots — a development he presented as one of the most important foundations of the government’s “Turkish Century” vision.

Öcalan says ‘not everything is resolved yet’, pointing to the framework law

The DEM Party’s İmralı delegation — Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar and Özgür Faik Erol — has shared a message from PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan following a meeting of around three hours on 2 August, in which he cautioned that “not everything is resolved yet” but said there was nothing to warrant a negative approach, pointing to the framework law. Describing the legislation that parliament is to produce as the key that will open the way for the process, Öcalan said in his message that a thousand-kilometre road begins with a single step, and that Turkey was at the start of a democratisation process he cast as no less important than the founding of the Republic, requiring the same seriousness and sacrifice. He argued that this was a need not only of Kurds or of one section of society but of everyone living in the country, that the step to be taken would affect the fate of the country and the region and open the way for the development of democratic law and the growth of economic opportunity — a great service, he said, for the country’s 86 million. What mattered, Öcalan added, was that this step be correctly understood and that everyone take on responsibility for the success of the process, with the door to a democratic republic being opened to the fullest extent.

Crisis in the CHP goes on: six potential candidates line up against Kılıçdaroğlu

The turmoil within the CHP is continuing, with reports that some MPs are preparing to issue a joint declaration against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was installed as party leader by the “absolute nullity” ruling. According to the report, the text is expected to call for an extraordinary congress to be convened without delay and for Kılıçdaroğlu not to stand for the leadership again. Following the departure of 91 MPs to join the new party, the CHP has been left with 45 deputies in parliament. Citing pro-government Hürriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi, the report says the number of MPs close to Kılıçdaroğlu stands at around 23–24, and that a group led by Gürsel Erol, Ali Öztunç, Engin Altay and Nermin Yıldırım Kara is preparing the declaration, though it is not yet clear whether only these four or other deputies too will sign it. Selvi also reported that the number of names being floated as possible leadership candidates ahead of a potential congress has risen to six: Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, Muharrem İnce, Ali Öztunç, Müslim Sarı, Gürsel Tekin and Gürsel Erol.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (Özgür Özel’s New Party and others)

CHP’s ‘absolute nullity’ leadership seeks to keep parliamentary rooms from YENİ Party

The “absolute nullity” leadership of the CHP has applied to the parliamentary speaker’s office in a bid to retain the rooms and corridors in parliament that would otherwise pass to the newly formed YENİ Party, arguing that the group floor, deputy group chair offices, and meeting and support units currently in the CHP’s use should be preserved as part of the party’s institutional continuity. In its application, the CHP contended that a change in the number of MPs affects seating in the General Assembly and the scale of service needs but does not create a rule of succession under which group premises allocated to political parties automatically pass to a new party, and that historical custom is for a new group to be separately accommodated by the speaker’s office — numerical size may determine service capacity, it said, but not the legal successor to an existing allocation. The application argued that spaces set aside for political parties under parliament’s roof are not party property and do not constitute a right that “migrates” with the deputies, that protecting the CHP’s existing use is a request for continuity of service and stable administrative practice rather than a claim of ownership, and that the formation of a new group generates no automatic right of succession over the former party’s rooms. It cited precedents including the Saadet Party in 2023, for which a new corridor was designated and rooms vacated, and ANAVATAN in 2005, when former FP rooms were reallocated, while acknowledging that there is no absolute written rule guaranteeing that a source party keeps its existing rooms in every case.

İYİ Party’s framework law move: to take the fight to the streets after parliament

The İYİ Party is preparing to use every parliamentary right available to it when the framework law drawn up as part of the peace initiative comes before the Grand National Assembly this week, before taking its campaign to the streets with a major rally in Balıkesir. According to backroom accounts reported by Cumhuriyet’s Merve Kılıç, the bill — part of the “Terror-Free Turkey” process launched at MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s call, despite objections from the relatives of the fallen and veterans — is expected to be taken up on Thursday 6 August once other items are completed, with debate aimed to conclude on Friday 7 August and the assembly possibly sitting on Saturday 8 August if needed. The AK Party is said to be seeking to pass the bill as quickly as possible without giving the opposition a chance to prolong the process, asking its MPs to arrange their weekly schedules around the assembly calendar and to work through the weekend if necessary. The İYİ Party, for its part, is reported to be readying all the tools the parliamentary rules allow — procedural debates, speaking time and motions — while opposition figures warn that any acceleration of proceedings could leave insufficient time to voice objections in detail. After the parliamentary stage, the party will hold the second of its “Raising the Flag” rallies on 16 August at Balıkesir’s Kuvayı Milliye Square, where leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu is expected to give a comprehensive assessment of the bill and set out the party’s political road map, with emphasis on the Turkish flag, national unity and the unitary state; Balıkesir was reportedly chosen for its symbolic association with the Kuvayı Milliye national resistance movement.

Investigation opened into TİP Istanbul MP Sera Kadıgil

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into Saliha Sera Kadıgil, an Istanbul MP for the Turkish Workers’ Party (TİP), over remarks she made about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a speech at a rally in İzmir. According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation was opened on charges of “insulting the President” and “making threats” in connection with her comments during the speech at the TİP rally held in İzmir on 31 July 2026.

İmamoğlu hits out at mayoral defections: ‘How can you sell what isn’t yours?’

Ekrem İmamoğlu, the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor held in Silivri Prison, has issued a written statement condemning the recent defection of several mayors to the AK Party, alleging that elected mayors are being forced to switch parties under pressure, imprisonment and the threat of prosecution. In the message, shared via the presidential candidate office account, İmamoğlu argued that municipalities that could not be won at the ballot box were being pursued through state power and the judicial mechanism, calling this damaging to democracy and the national will and a sign of the government’s final period. Referring to President Erdoğan’s phrase “new-generation organisation”, he claimed that the will of elected figures was being disregarded in what he described as an unprecedented episode in Turkey’s democratic history. Insisting that the national will is expressed at the ballot box, İmamoğlu said attempts to alter election results using the judiciary and state power were unacceptable, that those supporting the process would one day answer to the public conscience, and — declaring that “both the word and the offices belong to the nation” — asked how anyone could sell what was not theirs.

İBB acting head Nuri Aslan: one plot ‘sold’ 185 times

Nuri Aslan, acting head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), has said inspections found that the same development right had been used repeatedly and that around 520,000 square metres of additional building rights had been created through contentious transactions. Saying he had stayed silent until now in the expectation that the relevant officials at Tuzla Municipality would comply with the law, Aslan stated that in one instance a development right that could normally be used only once had been transferred to different plots 185 times, and that of 1,025 plots examined, 884 were found to have improper, incomplete documentation. He announced that the inspection report had been sent simultaneously to the relevant ministries, the chief public prosecutor’s office and Tuzla Municipality on 12 June 2026 to initiate judicial and administrative processes, stressing that the matter had no political dimension and was one of law and the public interest rather than investment or politics. Aslan argued that it was not legally possible for the İBB Assembly to bring in a zoning amnesty to erase the irregularities — such a measure could only be enacted by parliament — and said the problem would be resolved if those who had gained unfairly donated to Tuzla Municipality the amenity area or expropriation value corresponding to the 520,000 square metres of excess development transfer, adding that the matter had been referred to the İBB Inspection Board.

Operation targets Etimesgut Municipality: mayor Erdal Beşikçioğlu arrested

Forty people, among them Mayor Erdal Beşikçioğlu, have been arrested as part of a corruption investigation into Etimesgut Municipality conducted by the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Following statements at the Ankara West Courthouse, 44 people were referred to the on-duty magistrate’s court with a request for their arrest; 40 were remanded in custody, while judicial control measures were imposed on four others. The prosecutor’s office had launched the investigation over allegations of irregularities in certain tenders, the drawing up of false documents, and the obtaining of improper benefits in matters such as car park leasing and zoning and permit procedures for construction projects. Drawing on Court of Accounts reports, statements made under effective remorse provisions, complainants’ accounts, CİMER applications, audio and video recordings, and financial and telephone-record analysis, 55 suspects — 42 of them municipal staff and 13 company officials — had been detained on charges including establishing and running an organisation for the purpose of committing crime, membership of such an organisation, embezzlement, bribery, extortion, rigging tenders and rigging the performance of contracts. Ten of the suspects referred to the courthouse had been released under judicial control, while one suspect remains in hospital receiving treatment.

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Court of Cassation begins preliminary review of CHP “absolute nullity” ruling

The 3rd Civil Chamber of Turkey’s Court of Cassation has taken up for preliminary examination the ruling by the 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal that declared the CHP’s congress “absolutely null”, suspended Özgür Özel and the party leadership from office as an interim measure, and handed control back to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his administration. The appeal court had ruled on 21 May in the case seeking the annulment of the party’s 38th Ordinary Congress, held on 4–5 November 2023, and forwarded the file to the Court of Cassation after the parties lodged objections to its decision. The 3rd Civil Chamber has registered the case under a docket number and begun its preliminary review; if no deficiencies are found at this stage, it will proceed to examine the merits and deliver a final judgment on the question of absolute nullity, according to a report by Anadolu Agency.

İliç mine disaster: two defendants, including Canadian company executive, re-arrested

Two defendants in the case over the Çöpler Gold Mine disaster in the İliç district of Erzincan, who had been released under house arrest, have been sent back to prison after prosecutors’ objection was upheld. Iain Ronald Guille and Ali Rıza Kalender had been freed on 7 July by the Erzincan 1st Heavy Penal Court under judicial control measures, on condition that they not leave their homes, in the trial arising from the collapse of some 10 million cubic metres of cyanide-laden earth on 13 February 2024, which killed nine workers. Acting on an arrest warrant issued by the court for causing death by negligence, police traced Guille to a hotel in the Şişli district of Istanbul and detained him. The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office took the release decision to the higher Erzincan 2nd Heavy Penal Court, which, on reviewing the objection, ordered both men re-arrested, and Guille and Kalender were subsequently handed over to a penal institution by security forces. Following their release at the eighth hearing, the case — in which 43 defendants stand trial — had been left with no detained suspects.

İsias Hotel case: expert report finds public institutions 28 per cent at fault

An expert report submitted to the Adıyaman 2nd Administrative Court has apportioned a combined 28 per cent of the blame for the collapse of the Grand İsias Hotel in the 6 February 2023 earthquakes to public bodies — 20 per cent to Adıyaman Municipality, 6 per cent to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, and 2 per cent to the disaster management agency AFAD. The hotel, in the central district of Adıyaman, collapsed in the Kahramanmaraş-centred quakes, killing 72 people, among them students and tour guides from Northern Cyprus, and injuring ten. The report, prepared unanimously by a civil engineer, an urban and regional planner and a geological engineer, found the municipality at fault for failing to fully discharge its duties over zoning plans, design, implementation and inspection under the Construction Law; the ministry for inadequate oversight of planning and for issuing a building registration certificate; and AFAD for failing to take sufficient precautions despite the plots’ known proximity to active fault lines. The case was brought by the family of Ali Osman Aydın, a tour guide who survived the initial collapse but died on 7 February 2023, his relatives arguing that no official body came to his rescue in time and citing President Erdoğan’s 27 February 2023 request for “forgiveness” over delays in the first days of the response as evidence of inadequate coordination. The report was noted as capable of forming the basis for judgment in cases brought by other bereaved families without a fresh expert examination, though lawyers representing the families are reported to intend to appeal.

Illegal betting investigation in Mersin: detention orders for 80 people, transactions worth 20 billion lira uncovered

Turkey’s Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has announced that detention orders have been issued for 80 suspects in two separate investigations into illegal betting and the laundering of criminal proceeds, coordinated by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. In a statement on social media, the minister said transactions worth around 20 billion lira had been identified across the suspects’ bank, crypto-asset and payment institution accounts. Gürlek thanked the chief prosecutor’s offices in Istanbul, Erzurum and Mersin, along with the police and gendarmerie units involved, and framed the operations as part of the government’s determination — under President Erdoğan’s leadership and its stated goal of making the “Turkish Century” a “Century of Justice” — to hold to account those who misuse citizens’ charitable donations, to shed light on unsolved cases, and not to leave the futures of young people at the mercy of illegal betting and criminal organisations.

Justice Minister announces 13 fresh detentions in Ahbap investigation

Turkey’s Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has announced that a fourth wave of operations in the investigation into the Ahbap association has led to 13 further detentions, part of judicial proceedings against a total of 112 suspects across three separate inquiries in Istanbul, Erzurum and Mersin. The Ahbap investigation, framed by the minister as concerning an “Ahbaplar crime organisation”, is being pursued under four main headings: purchases of housing and containers, suspicious property transfers, cheques issued by the association, and the financial and commercial relationships among suspects. Officials from construction firms that allegedly received substantial sums from donations in 2023 to build housing but failed to complete it were among those detained, as were individuals connected to the transfer of 59 properties to a suspect named Yeliz Kaya, the endorsement of association cheques, and a person whose financial dealings with Ahbap chairman Haluk Levent were deemed suspicious. In a separate strand, the minister said the investigation into the disappearance of Gülistan Doku had prompted simultaneous operations across 15 provinces, with proceedings against 19 people and 18 detained in searches at 21 addresses, while the Mersin illegal betting inquiry had identified transactions worth around 20 billion lira. Gürlek thanked the prosecutors, police and gendarmerie involved and pledged to continue pursuing the misuse of donations, obstacles to solving unsolved cases, and illegal betting networks.

Başaran Holding owner Hüseyin Başaran detained in Ahbap investigation

Hüseyin Başaran, owner of Başaran Holding, has been detained as part of the ongoing investigation into the Ahbap association founded by musician Haluk Levent. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that 13 suspects had been detained in an operation on Monday morning, saying the inquiry was examining purchases of housing and containers, suspicious property transfers, cheques issued by the association, and financial and commercial relationships in full. Proceedings have been launched against officials of construction firms that allegedly received substantial sums from donations in 2023 to build housing but failed to complete it, among them representatives of Azim Yol İnşaat, Pegas Global and Hamle İnşaat, as well as against the association’s purchasing manager, Deniz Şimşek, over his role in procurement and payment processes. Başaran’s detention is connected to the transfer of numerous properties to a suspect named Yeliz Kaya — 22 from Başaran Holding, 10 from Power İnşaat, 17 from Koçsu Yapı and 10 from Orhan İnan — with proceedings also opened against officials of those companies. Investigators are additionally scrutinising the circulation and collection of certain cheques issued by the association, with action taken against their last endorser, Sibel Kaya, and Mays Grup official Muhammed Ali Yılmaz.

🏛️ Politics

Cabinet meets at Beştepe today with critical items on the agenda

Turkey’s cabinet convenes at the Beştepe presidential complex today to address a range of pressing issues, with the economy high on the agenda. Ministers are expected to review recent market developments following the Central Bank’s decision to hold interest rates steady, and to weigh possible new steps to support price stability. The renewed tension between the United States and Iran is also set to be discussed in detail, particularly the potential impact of developments in the Strait of Hormuz on energy prices and the Turkish economy. The meeting is likewise expected to take up the diplomatic contacts between Turkey and the US around the NATO Summit, including the state of efforts to lift CAATSA sanctions and to secure delivery of F-35 fighter jets. Finally, ministers will review the fight against forest fires, which have increased over the summer months, examining the precautions taken, preparations in high-risk areas and the latest situation on the ground.

Trade Ministry tightens advertising rules: new era begins on 1 August

Turkey’s Ministry of Trade is bringing in sweeping changes to its regulation on commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices from 1 August, aimed at strengthening consumer protection against the rapid growth of digital advertising. Under the new rules, advertisers must clearly and accessibly explain the criteria behind targeted adverts and how users can change those preferences, while targeted advertising to children based on personal data is banned outright. Influencers will be required to label promotions made in return for payment, free products, discounts or any other benefit with the words “advertisement” or “promotion”, and adverts featuring AI-generated digital characters that are hard to distinguish from real people must be marked as such — with adverts depicting an AI-generated digital copy of a real person as though they had used or recommended a product prohibited altogether. In discount advertising, the “before” price may only reflect the lowest price applied in the ten days before the campaign, while for perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables and for services the comparison will be against the previous sale price. General environmental claims such as “eco-friendly” or “nature-friendly” will no longer be permitted unless backed by scientific or official documentation specifying which stage of production they cover. On consumer reviews, the time given to sellers to respond before a complaint is published has been cut from 72 hours to 48, unverifiable user comments may not be published, and where product, seller, delivery and service ratings are presented separately, all scores and comments must be shown together in an easily visible way. The regulation also widens the advertising ban on illegal betting and games of chance, retains the ban on adverts for services such as fortune-tellers, mediums and astrologers, and prohibits adverts implying that dietary supplements can replace normal nutrition.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Investigation launched into ‘extras’ claims at CHP’s Sarıyer event

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into allegations that extras were brought in through a casting agency to attend a CHP membership enrolment ceremony. In a written statement, the office said the investigation was under way and that those complained of would be called to give statements once inquiries were complete. As part of the investigation, the identities of those who attended the event are expected to be established and any links to the casting agency at the centre of the claims examined, after which the individuals concerned are to be summoned to the prosecutor’s office to testify.

Faik Öztrak elected CHP group chairman

Faik Öztrak has been elected to the CHP’s group chairmanship, a post left vacant by Özgür Özel’s resignation from the party. Deputies cast their votes at a closed group meeting chaired by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in which Öztrak stood against Gürsel Erol over two rounds. Erol led the first round with 19 votes to Öztrak’s 18, but the balance shifted in the second round, with Öztrak moving ahead on 21 votes to Erol’s 17. Erol then withdrew from the contest before a third round, leaving Öztrak to take over as the CHP’s new group chairman.

Bakırhan: framework law must leave out no one who wants to come to peace

DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan has said his party expects the framework law drawn up as part of the peace process to be submitted to parliament this week, urging that it close its doors to no one who believes in and wishes to come to peace, and that it be a complete rather than a half law. Speaking at his party’s Mersin provincial congress, Bakırhan described the legislation as one that would end 50 years of pain, blood, conflict and violence and move the Kurdish question onto a democratic and legal footing, arguing that it should not make categorical distinctions between those who had and had not been involved in acts of terrorism. He said the improvement of Abdullah Öcalan’s living, working, communication and public-contact conditions was needed, called for the removal of state-appointed trustees (”kayyım”) from DEM-run municipalities in step with the law, and cast the measure as a beginning — a door opening onto demands over language, identity, a decent life, economic justice and jobs for young people — that would mean neither guerrilla mothers nor soldiers’ mothers waking in tears. Framing the process as one in which no one loses, Bakırhan said neither Turks nor Kurds had lost but that peace and the country’s 86 million had won, pointing to DEM becoming parliament’s third party and its municipal gains in Mersin, and pledging to respond to provocations with calm and resolve rather than anger while continuing the struggle for a Turkey where every identity, language and belief could live freely.

Armed attack at cemetery: AKP official killed alongside son and nephew

Mehmet Direk, a member of the AKP’s central district executive board in Batman, was killed alongside his son Ercan Direk and nephew Bekir Direk in an armed attack at the Asri Cemetery in the city’s Güneykent neighbourhood on Saturday evening. According to local Batman media, an as-yet-unidentified assailant or assailants opened fire on the three men, all of whom died. Police sealed off the scene and brought entry and exit under control, while Batman police launched a wide-ranging operation to capture the suspect or suspects, who fled the scene; nearby security cameras are being examined and technical and field work is under way to establish the attackers’ escape route. No explanation has yet been given for the motive behind the attack. AKP Batman provincial chair Hüseyin Şansi said in a social media statement that he had learnt of the deaths with deep sorrow, describing Mehmet Direk as a comrade, and offered his condolences to the Direk family, their loved ones and the party organisation.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (Özgür Özel’s New Party and others)

Another mayor resigns from CHP to join Özel’s YENİ Party

Kadir Aydar, mayor of Ceyhan in Adana province, has announced his resignation from the CHP and his decision to join the new party being founded under the leadership of Özgür Özel. Speaking at an advisory board meeting organised by the CHP’s Ceyhan district branch at the Murat Göğebakan Cultural Centre, Aydar described the move as one of the hardest but most honourable decisions of a political career spanning many years, saying he had never regarded politics as a matter of office, seat or party badge but as standing firm behind one’s values and being willing to pay a price. He recounted joining the CHP at 18, putting up posters and working at ballot boxes in his youth, chairing the party’s Ceyhan district branch, and winning record votes to become mayor in the 2019 and 2024 local elections. Stressing that leaving the CHP did not mean abandoning republican values, Aydar argued that Atatürk’s legacy belonged to no single party, that his decision came with no expectation of office since he was already mayor, and that Turkey needed a politics that once again produced hope. He handed his CHP badge to Gürsel İlçi, who had pinned it on him when he first joined at 18, before being given the new party’s badge by Hıdır Bayrak, one of the CHP’s oldest members.

Published in Official Gazette: Meral Akşener sets up foundation

The founding of a charitable foundation bearing the name of Meral Akşener, the Good Party’s (İYİ Parti) founding leader, has been completed, with the decision published in the Official Gazette. The “Meral Akşener Foundation” was established to help disadvantaged sections of society, following reports in late April that she had begun work on setting it up; the ruling of the Istanbul Anatolia 34th Civil Court of First Instance, dated 12 May, became final on 22 June, and the foundation was formally established through an announcement by the Directorate General of Foundations in the Official Gazette. Its stated purpose is to produce projects, conduct research and provide aid in line with the nation’s educational, social, cultural, environmental and health needs, among other aims set out in its charter. The foundation has cash assets of 5 million lira, and its management includes Akşener, her son Fatih Akşener and her private secretary Esma Bekar.

Arıkan on Ahbap: ‘We won’t let go until the sergeants who shielded it are exposed’

Saadet Party leader Mahmut Arıkan has argued that responsibility for the allegations surrounding the Ahbap association cannot be pinned on musician Haluk Levent alone, asking who the “sergeants” were that shielded the organisation over the years and vowing not to drop the matter until they are exposed. Speaking at his party’s traditional Konya picnic, Arıkan said Turkey’s charitable and foundation culture had been damaged, claiming that donors’ money had been taken and misused over many years, and that the bureaucracy and judiciary that turned a blind eye should also be investigated — accusing the government of using a distraction tactic to throw Ahbap to the public while the “sergeants” escaped scrutiny. He went on to pledge to end what he called a century of polarising politics, calling on citizens of all political stripes — right, left, secular, religious, nationalist, socialist — to struggle together against what he described as an oppressive order. Turning to foreign policy, Arıkan contended that messages delivered at the NATO Summit in Ankara were not coincidental, linking them to regional developments including remarks by Trump, an alleged strike order against Iran, and a reported overnight Ukrainian attack on an Iranian ship, and invoked the late Necmettin Erbakan to argue that the “Greater Middle East” and “Greater Israel” projects were advancing while the region continued to see bloodshed.

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Training helicopter crashes in field near Ankara, two injured

A two-seater R44 training helicopter came down in a field in the Temelli area of Ankara, along the Ankara–Eskişehir road, on Wednesday morning for reasons that have yet to be established. The civilian aircraft, operated by a private company and reported to belong to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), was carrying two people, both of whom were injured in the crash. Gendarmerie, fire and ambulance crews were dispatched to the scene, though no detailed information on the condition of the injured has yet been released. The Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident.

Court publishes reasoning in Leyla Aydemir case: cause of four-year-old’s death remains undetermined

A court in Ağrı has published its reasoned judgment in the case of Leyla Aydemir, the four-year-old girl whose body was found by a stream 18 days after she went missing in the village of Bezirhane in June 2018, explaining its decision to sentence her uncle, Yusuf Aydemir, to aggravated life imprisonment for the deliberate killing of a child. The Ağrı 1st Heavy Penal Court found that the girl had not simply gone missing but had been held against her will by a close relative and hidden in a home in the village — most likely in a cool place such as a well or storehouse — where the uncle cared for her and fed her milk until her death, which the court concluded occurred before 26–27 June 2018, in a manner forensic examiners were unable to determine. The judgment noted that the autopsy found no injuries, internal bleeding or skeletal damage, and ruled out death from hunger or thirst, while the body’s storage in a cold environment prevented the Forensic Medicine Institute from fixing the precise time of death. The court also cited telephone records showing that the internet connection on Yusuf Aydemir’s SIM card was switched off between 15 June and 2 July 2018 and reactivated only after the body was found, rejecting his explanation that he had swapped his smartphone for a basic handset, and concluded that he had deliberately left the child’s body, transported by tractor, in a spot near the village where it was likely to be discovered once searches had eased. Seven defendants, one of them in custody, were retried in the case, and the judgment observed that witnesses appeared to have consciously avoided discussing the matter because the crime was known within the family.

Ahbap investigation widens: prosecutors to take statements from high-profile figures

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is to take statements from five well-known figures — news presenters Ece Üner and Fatih Portakal, lawyer Feyza Altun, singer Gökhan Özoğuz and television host Öykü Serter — as part of its ongoing investigation into the Ahbap charitable association. Three operations conducted so far in the inquiry have led to the arrest of 28 people, among them Ahbap’s chairman, the musician Haluk Levent, and Babala TV presenter Oğuzhan Uğur, on allegations including establishing an organisation for the purpose of committing crime, aggravated fraud, abuse of trust in the course of service, and laundering the proceeds of crime. Judicial control measures have been imposed on some suspects, while assets belonging to the association and certain individuals have been seized.

NATO Summit arrests: TEMA volunteers, journalists and academics released

Large numbers of people detained in operations ahead of the NATO Summit held in Ankara on 7–8 July, among them volunteers from the TEMA Foundation, journalists and academics, have begun to be released. Thirty TEMA volunteers who had been remanded in custody on charges of membership of the TKP/ML terrorist organisation, including the foundation’s Ankara provincial representative Nevzat Özer, were freed in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Journalist Yıldız Tar, academic Associate Professor Emel Memiş and Umut-Sen spokesperson Burcu Arıkan, who had been arrested during the same period on the same charge, were also released. The original arrests were made by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on allegations of membership of various terrorist organisations.

🏛️ Politics

Turkish parliament delays summer recess by a week to pass pensions and student amnesty measures

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) has extended its working calendar by a week after the General Assembly approved a proposal from the ruling AK Party group, postponing a summer recess that had been due to begin on Friday 24 July. Under the revised schedule, a bill amending various laws and decrees — including a provision to raise the minimum retirement pension — moves to the top of the agenda, with a second bill covering a student amnesty and other higher education measures placed immediately behind it. The chamber has agreed to sit on Friday if this week’s deliberations are not completed, and will continue into the following week, when it is due to take up the ratification of a law-enforcement cooperation memorandum with Libya’s Government of National Unity on Tuesday 28 July, a protocol amending the 1992 international road transport agreement with Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday 29 July, and a debt cancellation agreement with the Kyrgyz Republic on Thursday 30 July.

Justice Ministry denies claims that no DNA was taken from Rojin Kabaiş’s clothing

Turkey’s Ministry of Justice has rejected as untrue media claims that the Forensic Medicine Institute failed to take DNA samples from the clothing of Rojin Kabaiş or to carry out the necessary biological examinations as part of the investigation into her death. In a statement issued on social media on Monday evening, the ministry said the garments reportedly removed from Kabaiş’s body were first sent to the Van Gendarmerie Criminal Laboratory, where biological examinations were conducted and a report prepared, before being forwarded to the Forensic Medicine Institute’s specialist biology department for further analysis. According to the ministry, numerous stain and swab samples were taken from different areas of the underwear, tracksuit top and tracksuit bottoms, and were subjected to visual stain examination, tests for blood and human blood, analysis for menstrual blood, and both autosomal STR and Y-STR DNA analyses, rendering the allegation that no DNA samples were taken demonstrably false. The ministry urged the public not to give credence to unverified, misleading and disinformative content concerning the ongoing investigation.

Wife of governor dismissed over cycling attire reportedly handed surprise Istanbul post

Esengül Korkmaz Çiçekli, wife of former Ardahan Governor Mehmet Fatih Çiçekli — who was removed from office on 18 July after drawing criticism for wearing cycling tights — has reportedly been appointed a deputy governor of Istanbul. According to a report in Sözcü, her husband’s recall to the Interior Ministry’s central organisation triggered a change in her own posting under ministry rules governing the assignment of married bureaucrat couples to the same city, and the decision to move her from her role as deputy governor of Ardahan to Istanbul is expected to be published in the Official Gazette this week. Mr Çiçekli’s dismissal followed a row in parliament after images of him in professional cycling gear circulated, with CHP Kars MP İnan Akgün Alp describing the outfit as “tights”, claiming it was unbecoming of a governor and calling for his removal.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP, CHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Davutoğlu responds to talk of new party: “It falls to us to wish them well”

Ahmet Davutoğlu, leader of the Future Party, has responded to CHP leader Özgür Özel’s announcement that a new party is to be founded, telling journalists after his Yeni Yol Group’s weekly meeting that it would not befit political courtesy to comment negatively on developments within another party. He said that if a new party were being established, it fell to him to wish it well, though he advised that the opposition should look beyond minor disagreements to identify where common ground could be found, arguing that Turkey needed to revisit its shared values, moral standards and political vision, and that the limits of constant fragmentation and mutual recrimination had been reached. Mr Davutoğlu contended that the government was shaping the law and the system to its own design, and that disputes within the opposition were making it harder for a strong alternative to emerge. He also reiterated his opposition to the “absolute nullity” ruling issued against the CHP, describing it as a wrong decision that amounted to an interference in politics.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (Özgür Özel’s New Party and others)

No Treasury funding for Özel’s new party: even 90 MPs will not be enough

The new political party that Özgür Özel intends to found after announcing his departure from the CHP will be unable to draw on state Treasury funding, whatever its strength in parliament, under Turkey’s current Political Parties Law. Although the new formation is expected to attract a large number of CHP deputies — potentially exceeding 90 MPs and quickly forming a parliamentary group — supplementary article 1 of Law No. 2820 ties state aid to a party’s performance at the most recent general election, requiring participation in that election and at least 3 per cent of the valid vote. Because the new party did not contest the 2023 general election, it has no vote share on which an entitlement could be calculated, and neither MP transfers, group formation nor a high seat count generates any right to funding on its own. The party will only become eligible if it wins at least 3 per cent of the vote at the first general election it contests, qualifying it for the following funding period; until then, it is expected to finance its activities through membership fees, donations and other lawful sources of income. Reports indicate the party’s founding application will be lodged on 27 July.

Deputy mayor of Eyüpsultan detained in widening Çankaya municipality investigation

The investigation into Ankara’s Çankaya Municipality has widened, with detention orders issued for H.K., a deputy mayor of Istanbul’s Eyüpsultan Municipality, along with G.G., an employee of a municipal subsidiary company, and one other person. H.K. and G.G. were taken into custody on Wednesday morning and brought to the Istanbul Police Headquarters before being transferred to Ankara to give statements, according to a report by Halk TV. No search was carried out at the Eyüpsultan Municipality building, though computers belonging to the two detainees were examined. The operation against Çankaya Municipality had already seen 24 people arrested on 14 July, among them Mayor Hüseyin Can Güner, who was suspended from office by the Interior Ministry.

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Indictment accepted over Kahramanmaraş school attack: charges against İsa Aras Mersinli’s parents confirmed

The investigation into the school attack in Kahramanmaraş carried out by 16-year-old İsa Aras Mersinli, in which nine pupils and a teacher were killed and 15 pupils injured, has been completed, with an indictment accepted charging his father, Uğur Mersinli, with “killing with possible intent” and his mother, Peyman Pınar Mersinli, with “causing death and injury through conscious negligence”. The Kahramanmaraş Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the investigation into the armed attack of 15 April 2026 at the Ayser Çalık Secondary School in the Onikişubat district had been completed as of 20 July. İsa Aras Mersinli carried out the attack using five firearms and seven magazines said to belong to his father. Uğur Mersinli, a chief police inspector, was detained in the investigation and remanded in custody on 16 April, while Peyman Pınar Mersinli, a Turkish language and literature teacher, was released after initial proceedings. A further detention order was issued for her on 22 April, and she was detained on her way back from visiting her husband at the prison in Elazığ, before being remanded in custody on a charge of causing death by negligence by a court to which she was connected via the SEGBİS video-link system. The prosecutor’s office prepared an indictment charging Uğur Mersinli with killing with possible intent and with violating Law No. 6136 on firearms, and his wife with causing death and injury through conscious negligence. Proceedings began with the acceptance of the indictment by the Kahramanmaraş 3rd Heavy Penal Court.

Ahbap Association investigation: nine people including Oğuzhan Uğur remanded in custody

Nine suspects, among them Oğuzhan Uğur, have been remanded in custody in the investigation into allegations that donations collected in the name of the Ahbap Association were transferred to suspects’ accounts. Proceedings at the magistrate’s court were completed for the 10 suspects detained in the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and taken to the Istanbul courthouse in Çağlayan, with the court ordering the arrest of Oğuzhan Uğur, Gülgün Öztürk, Suzan Düşküner, Emir Taşar, Emre Kartaloğlu, Hüseyin Küçük, Fatih Eke, Muharrem Karataş and Ersin Gökgün, and judicial supervision for Özgür Ömer Güner. The financial crimes branch of the Istanbul Police Directorate had been working under the coordination of the prosecutor’s office on offences of forming an organisation to commit crime, aggravated fraud and laundering assets derived from crime; MASAK financial intelligence reports on the association’s employees, examinations of account movements and technical and physical surveillance were said to have found high-value money movements inconsistent with the suspects’ financial profiles, large transfers between them, substantial sums moved into gambling accounts and lost through betting, and numerous chained title-deed transfers among them over a short period. Seventeen suspects linked to the association’s members and employees, including its founder, the singer Haluk Levent, were detained in an operation on 12 July, with nine more caught subsequently; one was released after police questioning, while of the 25 referred to the courthouse, 14 including Levent were remanded in custody and 11 placed under judicial supervision. A further 17 suspects were detained in simultaneous operations by the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command’s anti-smuggling and organised crime branch in Istanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli and Muğla; of the 12 referred to the courthouse, four were remanded and eight placed under judicial supervision, bringing the total number in custody to 18. The assets of the association and of some suspects were seized. Ten people including Uğur were then detained, gave statements to prosecutors at the Çağlayan courthouse, and nine were referred to the magistrate with a request for arrest on charges of abuse of trust in the course of duty and laundering assets derived from crime, while Güner was sent with a request for judicial supervision.

New claim in Rojin Kabaiş case: “evidence has been suppressed”

The family of Rojin Kabaiş, the university student who disappeared in Van in 2024 and whose body was found on the lakeshore, has alleged significant shortcomings in the investigation, with her father, Nizamettin Kabaiş, claiming evidence has been suppressed because no DNA samples were taken from her clothes and no diatom test was carried out. Kabaiş, a 21-year-old studying pre-school teaching at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, went missing in 2024, and her body was found by the lake after searches. The family refused to accept the suggestion of suicide and began a legal campaign, with her father alleging negligence and the suppression of evidence. While the investigation continued, the family learnt that no DNA samples had been taken from the clothes she was wearing that day and that no diatom test — used to determine whether a suspicious death resulted from drowning or whether the person was placed in the water after being killed — had been carried out, and they requested these through their new lawyer. Speaking to the İHA news agency, Kabaiş said things that should have been done earlier had not been, that much would come to light thanks to their lawyer, and that they had been shocked to find the diatom test had not been done at the time, which he said amounted to a cover-up; he called on the Justice Minister to intervene over any misconduct in office, asking why the tests were being requested only two years later and citing questions over how many white vehicles entered and left the village, his daughter’s roommate’s statement and camera recordings. He said they had been told a rotating camera at the scene was broken and had let the matter go, but that the university had sent a letter before their visit to the Justice Minister stating it had no broken cameras — in which case, he asked, where was the footage, and if it was broken, why was no record drawn up. Things not done at the time were being done two years on, he said, adding that most of the camera recordings in Mollakasım had been erased and that the case would have been solved had the work been carried out promptly: it could have been established whether the body came from the water or was left there, given the many villas and cameras in the area. Kabaiş said many officials in Van did not want the case solved, that different accounts were given to the Justice Minister and to the family, and that matters had reached a final point; he said he would set out the shortcomings on another visit to Ankara, that prosecutors had told him earlier officials had failed to examine these things and that it was not their fault, and that he would speak out publicly against any cover-up, appealing to the President if necessary.

Journalist Alican Uludağ detained

The journalist Alican Uludağ has announced on his social media account that he is being detained, with no official statement so far on the grounds for the action. In a post on the social media platform X, Uludağ said he was being taken into custody. His post gave no information on the reason, and no explanation has yet been issued by the authorities. Uludağ had previously been remanded in custody on charges of publicly insulting the president, publicly disseminating misleading information, and publicly denigrating the government of the Republic of Türkiye and the state’s judicial organs, and was released on 21 May after spending around three months in Silivri prison.

🏛️ Politics

President Erdoğan: King Charles III’s mosque visit is most valuable

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described King Charles III’s visit to the Cambridge Central Mosque as most valuable, saying it was especially significant at a time when anti-Islamic sentiment and cultural racism were rising globally. Erdoğan issued a written message on the King’s visit to the mosque and its complex, described as Europe’s first environmentally friendly mosque. Recalling that the mosque opened for worship around seven years ago, he said he was greatly pleased that it had hosted such a meaningful visit, and remarked that the mosque had, from the laying of its first brick, been a symbol of solidarity against discrimination and of respect against hatred, and was successfully fulfilling that mission. Erdoğan drew attention to the importance the King attached to people of different cultures, origins and faiths living together in peace, stressing that his efforts in this regard were well known. He said he found the visit most valuable at a time of rising anti-Islamic sentiment and cultural racism worldwide, conveyed his greetings to the friendly British people through the King, said he would be pleased to host him in Türkiye, and extended his respectful greetings to members of the Muslim community living in Britain, foremost among them Turkish citizens.

Vice-President Yılmaz: Cyprus will never be a Greek island

Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz has said that the international community must now accept that the Turkish Cypriots own these lands as much as the Greek Cypriots do, declaring that Cyprus will never be a Greek island, in a speech at the 20 July Peace and Freedom Day ceremony in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Speaking at the ceremony on Dr Fazıl Küçük Boulevard, Yılmaz conveyed the greetings of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the government and the Turkish nation, remembered those who died in the Turkish Cypriot struggle for freedom and paid tribute to the veterans. He remembered the then prime minister Bülent Ecevit, his deputy Necmettin Erbakan, Alparslan Türkeş and other statesmen involved in the 1974 operation, along with Dr Fazıl Küçük and the TRNC’s founding president Rauf Denktaş, saying the struggle they led was crowned by Türkiye’s decisive intervention on 20 July 1974, through which Türkiye fulfilled the historical, legal and humanitarian responsibility placed on guarantors by the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, ending 11 years of suffering between 1963 and 1974. Yılmaz said the 52 years since had demonstrated the justice of Türkiye’s intervention and the importance of its guarantorship, with the presence of the Turkish Armed Forces underpinning more than half a century of peace and stability. He said attempts to dominate the whole island by eliminating the Turkish Cypriots had been thwarted, and that Türkiye was closely monitoring the activities of circles seeking to exploit recent regional tensions to make Cyprus part of new military formations; he condemned what he called Greek Cypriot lobbying and disinformation efforts through European institutions, saying those who believed they could now achieve through alliances in the Eastern Mediterranean what they had failed to do by force were gravely mistaken, and that drawing Cyprus into regional rivalries would provide security to no one. Yılmaz said long-running negotiations had proved fruitless because the Greek Cypriot side would not share governance and wealth or accept the Turkish Cypriots as equal partners, and that UN Security Council decisions and the Greek Cypriot side’s admission to the European Union — which, he said, had forfeited its claim to be a fair party by admitting it in violation of its own principles — had entrenched this, while the Turkish Cypriots faced unjust isolation and embargoes. Saying the TRNC had maintained its existence with determination for 43 years, he argued that a basis for cooperation resting on the existence of two peoples, two democracies and two states would benefit regional peace, that approaches reducing the Turkish Cypriots to minority status would produce no solution, and that a just and lasting settlement lay through recognition of the sovereign equality and equal international status of two states; he invited the international community to hear the Turkish Cypriot voice and end the isolation. Yılmaz noted the TRNC’s growing international visibility and its representation in the Organisation of Turkic States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organisation, pledged that new generations would not be cut off by isolation, and said projects under the 2026 economic and financial cooperation agreement signed on 9 April 2026 were being implemented with the TRNC authorities. He said that, just as the island’s water needs had been met by the “Project of the Century”, Türkiye would supply natural gas as a clean and stable energy source and advance development in health, education, transport and information technology, adding that Cyprus would never be a Greek island, that those who had failed to halt the TRNC’s progress would not weaken the Turkish Cypriots’ will, and that the “Turkish Century” would also be the TRNC’s century. He closed with cheers for the Republic of Türkiye, the TRNC and their everlasting brotherhood, after which he and TRNC President Tufan Erhürman watched the parade.

Term of commission investigating Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş school attacks extended

The Turkish parliament’s commission investigating the school incidents in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş and digital risks has extended its term by one month, in a decision taken by majority vote at a meeting chaired by AKP Tokat MP Yusuf Beyazıt. Beyazıt briefed the commission on a working visit to Istanbul on 17-18 July, saying they had carried out a comprehensive session on the incident in Çekmeköy in which the teacher Fatma Nur Çelik lost her life, attended by the Istanbul governor, deputy governors, the Çekmeköy district governor, provincial and district directors, school administrators and teachers. He said they had received detailed information from institutional officials about the day of the incident and the process and measures that followed, and had assessed work in Istanbul focused on children’s safety, measures to strengthen safe school environments, and inter-agency cooperation and coordination in tackling digital risks. Beyazıt said the violent incidents at schools in Kahramanmaraş and in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa could not be treated as isolated security problems, but represented a multi-dimensional social problem directly concerning children’s right to life, to safe education and to physical and mental integrity. He said their expectation of the Justice Ministry was that the punitive, protective and rehabilitative dimensions of the juvenile justice system be considered together, drawing attention to identifying the conditions that lead children into serious violence, strengthening social investigations, establishing adult responsibility for access to firearms, and reintegrating children into society. He stressed the importance of improving access to child and adolescent mental health services, identifying risk signs early and providing long-term psychosocial support to affected children, adding that violent behaviour could not be seen solely as a mental health problem and that timely assessment of sharp behavioural changes, expressions of harm to self or others, and signs of crisis was vital, and that a swift and functioning referral system between schools and child and adolescent mental health units was needed. Senior officials from the ministries of family and social services, youth and sports, health, transport and infrastructure and justice, along with a deputy head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, are to give presentations to the commission.

Agriculture Ministry responds to “locust invasion” claims

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has responded to social media posts claiming a “locust invasion” in the Marmara region, chiefly in Istanbul and Tekirdağ, saying the insects in the images pose no threat to agricultural production and belong to native species found naturally in Türkiye. The ministry said its teams had encountered no locust invasion threatening agricultural production in the region, and identified the insects in the circulating images as the white-faced bush cricket (Decticus albifrons). In its statement, the ministry said that examinations and monitoring by its teams had found no locust invasion or population causing economic damage in Istanbul, Tekirdağ or the wider Marmara region, and that species identification had established that all the insects in the images belonged to native populations found naturally in the country — so there was no swarm arriving from the Balkans, Africa or any other region as alleged. The species identified in Istanbul, it said, does not damage agricultural production but rather contributes to the biological balance by feeding on agricultural pests. The ministry noted that many species live naturally in Türkiye, that populations of some can rise seasonally depending on climate conditions and egg-laying periods, that they may be carried into residential areas by the wind and are noticed more often because they are drawn to light in hot weather — a natural process that does not amount to an invasion. It added that locust populations are monitored regularly by technical teams across all 81 provinces under the annual plant health programme, that work in Istanbul and Tekirdağ has been intensified following recent reports, and that control measures are applied without delay should species capable of damaging agricultural production reach the economic damage threshold — though no such situation currently exists.

Protocol signed in Nişantepe as residents begin leaving their homes — even locals don’t know what the process involves

Residents of Nişantepe in Istanbul’s Çekmeköy district, most of them Roma and many of whom have lived there for more than 30 years, have signed a protocol with a construction company after talks lasting some 17 hours, with each household promised differing sums and given 15 days to vacate their homes — yet no clear information about the document’s legal nature or when and how payments will be made. According to a report by Meral Danyıldız for BirGün, most residents of the neighbourhood — where they are treated as “occupiers” despite decades of residence — signed documents providing for them to leave their homes. Residents said the talks began at around 2pm on 20 July and ran until 7am on 21 July, with most arriving at the municipal building at about 4pm and waiting some 17 hours as they were called in one by one; no agreement was reached in the first round and signatures were taken only when they were called back in a second time.

Residents said they were told they would receive certain sums if they vacated their homes, but that the amounts differed by household, with some shown 1.5 million lira and others up to 3.5 million, and no clear explanation of the criteria used. Higher sums were reportedly offered to households with an electricity subscription and bills, with separate calculations for later additions to buildings, while it remains unknown how the size of the structures, length of occupation, number of residents and long-standing family claims figured in the amounts. Residents said the documents required the homes to be vacated within 15 days, and that they had been told to break windows or frames to show the buildings were no longer in use, photograph them and take the images to the municipality, at which point demolition teams would not come and the payment process would begin — an arrangement that raises the question of which institution is responsible for eviction and demolition, given that residents are being directed to render their own homes uninhabitable.

Engin Hayman said he was offered a total equivalent to 2 million lira, described as 1.5 million plus a 500,000-lira instalment, but that nothing had yet been done about payment: the protocol contained no bank account details, only names and telephone numbers. He said he would photograph the house and take it straight to the municipality to show on his phone that it had been demolished, that he did not know whether the money would then be paid immediately, and that he had been told his IBAN would be taken after the photograph was handed over. On that account, residents are being asked to vacate and disable their homes before any payment, with no written timetable for when the money will arrive.

Residents said they were given no information about the document’s legal nature — whether an undertaking to vacate, a promise-of-sale contract or some other protocol carrying further rights and obligations — and, as they hold no title deeds, it remains unclear what it means for ownership, right of use or any future claims. They said they were not given a copy, leaving them unable to have it examined by a lawyer, and that no bank guarantee, promissory note, mortgage or similar security for the promised sums has been disclosed. Fatih Kozgiç, a resident of some 30 years, said they had been called in with the neighbourhood head, gone to the municipality at 3pm and left at midnight, and had been given a protocol without knowing what they had signed, with no notary involved; sums ranging from 500,000 to 7 million lira had been offered to different households, they had not been allowed to photograph the documents, and they did not know when or how the money would come. Another resident said the process ran from 2pm to 7am, that they were taken in one by one, refused permission to photograph the document and given no copy, and that their lawyer had been told he could not come in because it was not a courtroom and only individuals could enter.

Only a month ago, residents of the area — around 44 households — protested outside Çekmeköy municipality against eviction and demolition orders, objecting to being described as “occupiers” when they had lived in the same homes for over 30 years, paid electricity and water bills and various taxes and charges. Some had obtained building registration certificates under the 2018 zoning amnesty, which did not confer ownership but allowed the structures to be registered and connected to utilities; according to lawyers for the neighbourhood, some of these certificates were cancelled from 2023 on the grounds that the land belonged to third parties or legal entities, after which demolition orders began to be issued, and the pressure to evict continued despite stay-of-execution rulings in cases brought against them. In June, residents told BirGün they had nowhere else to go: Güldane Demirdöğen, there for 35 years, said they had built, paid taxes and settled their bills yet were now told to leave, and that she could not pay rent or even live in a tent, while Gülten Gozgiç said her husband had bought the plot some 40 years ago, that they had built a shack and lived among snakes, that the gendarmerie had demolished it and they had rebuilt — and asked whether they were now to be left on the street.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Öcalan: we are on the eve of turning the historic Kurdish-Turkish alliance into a legal footing

Abdullah Öcalan has said, following a meeting with members of the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation, that Türkiye is on the eve of transforming the historic Kurdish-Turkish alliance into a legal footing, that the time has come to create a legal basis in which mutual sensitivities are observed, and that it is possible to live together equally and freely in a democratic republic. Delegation members Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar and Özgür Faik Erol met the leader of the dissolved PKK on İmralı island to discuss the framework law. In a statement afterwards, the DEM Party said the delegation had held a comprehensive meeting with Öcalan after a long interval, addressing political developments in the region, the building of a democratic society, the stage reached in the peace process and how the legal framework should be shaped, and it shared his message to the public.

In his remarks, Öcalan said their determination to act in keeping with the spirit of the 27 February call and to resolve the problem within a fraternal legal order continued, and that they were on the eve of putting on a legal footing the Kurdish-Turkish alliance he described as a historical truth in Anatolia, inseparable at every critical stage. Invoking the maxim that separating the Turk from the Kurd leaves neither, he said this necessitated developing a law of common life and equality, that the time had come for a legal basis observing mutual sensitivities, and that everyone should abandon narrow approaches that do not serve the future and weave a common life together, conscious that patiently opening this path was a historic opportunity. He called on all to do their utmost to begin the legal process within the framework set out in the report prepared by parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, to remove conflict and weapons entirely from the equation and to open a new page. The Kurdish-Turkish alliance, he said, was the cornerstone of Anatolia’s common future, the culture of these lands should be the basis of every step, and it was possible to secure the alliance permanently in law and live together equally and freely in a democratic republic, adding that negative law must be transformed into positive law and expressing full confidence that this historic opportunity would be seized. The delegation described the call as historic and said it was determined to continue constructive dialogue with parliament and all relevant institutions and to reach a lasting solution.

The meeting followed contacts with the AKP and MHP: MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli met Buldan — a deputy speaker of parliament and DEM Party MP for Van — and an accompanying delegation for around 40 minutes behind closed doors, after which no statement was made, with Buldan saying they would not give details of the content; the DEM Party later said views had been exchanged on the framework law and that Öcalan would be visited as soon as possible. The delegation’s previous visit to the island was on 24 May, when a meeting of about five hours was reported in a written statement; on that occasion Öcalan assessed the absolute nullity ruling and the police intervention at the CHP’s headquarters as consequences of Türkiye’s democracy problem, asking whether breaking down the door of a political party’s headquarters with a sledgehammer was something that could happen in a democracy.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Özgür Özel announces: we are founding the new party all together

Özgür Özel, who left the CHP leadership following the absolute nullity ruling, has set out the road map for a new political formation at his parliamentary group meeting, declaring that they are founding the new party together, extending a message of unity to Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, and saying they are “on the march to power”. He said the party would be founded the next day, when they would come together with provincial chairs and MPs, adding that in politics they were not changing their shirts but donning a shirt of fire together for the country’s future. Repeating his call for unity, he said the matter should not be argued over through mayors and municipal councillors, and that everyone who had not said “I am not with Özgür Özel” was with them.

Özel said he had taken the podium with different feelings, carrying the sadness of a farewell whose time had perhaps come, and warned that no one should assume recent conduct would be forgotten or wash away, since history was recording where each person stood. He described a long-entrenched order in Türkiye that imposes unchanging actors on the nation, and said those in the hall had been the ones unwilling to accept the defeats of 14 and 28 May, and unable to make excuses for failing to prevent those with a quarrel with the Republic from continuing to govern it in its centenary year. He contrasted those who had said the reaction would pass in a few days, or who declined to rule out standing again, or who spoke of steering the ship to a safe harbour through one more local election, with those who warned that the party was falling to 13 or 14 per cent in the polls, that turnout would hit a historic low and that the public would lose hope in the ballot box — and said the roads parted that day. He added that he valued equally those who came to the same position later, arguing that returning from an initial mistake was itself a virtue, and that what mattered was sincerity, standing in the right place and self-sacrifice rather than selfishness.

Recalling the change congress, Özel said many had insisted change was impossible with that delegate structure, and that no incumbent leader had ever lost a contested leadership race in the party’s century-long history. He said he had answered that he could not change the delegates’ will himself, but that they would be changed by what a barber whispered to them, by a 16-year-old neighbour, by a spouse or a grandchild — and that the hall had been filled with the chant “delegate, listen to the street”. None of those elected, he said, had come from outside the party; they had competed, won, and for the first time changed an incumbent leader through a contested election, putting the first spoke in the wheel of the order that imposes unchanging actors. He said he had repeatedly been asked whether messages had come from the state or “deeper” places, whether he had reached an understanding or given undertakings, and had always said no — to which people replied that they would never let him have the party or the system without bargaining and proving himself harmless within it.

Özel said the party’s name and logo might change and times might turn, but that this togetherness could not be split — not into 60-40 or 30-70 like a watermelon — because it rested on a 103-year tradition. He recalled that only four months separated the congress from the local elections, in which importance was given to women, young people and polling data, with candidates chosen for their capacity to convey change: in İzmir, he said, nine women were nominated and eight elected, and 14 young candidates nominated with 13 elected, taking 29 of 31 races, while nationally 65 per cent of the country was won, with mistakes paid for in Kırklareli and Hatay.

Turning to the present, Özel said those in the “deep state” had come again, telling him to conduct Ankara-centred politics, to get off the campaign bus and to abandon İmamoğlu, who they said would be broken up by the courts, offering him cement and mortar to pour concrete over his own colleagues and sit at the head of the party for 30 years. This, he said, was the parting of the ways: whether to hand over the country’s clean and honest sons to what he called the AKP’s dark new order — a politics that could not defeat them through its women’s or youth branches and had sidelined politicians for bureaucrats — and rule within the party atop that concrete, or to fight for his comrades. Declaring that they were founding the new party, he said no one should reproach mayors or councillors for not crossing over, that neither İmamoğlu nor Yavaş would be left behind, and that everyone from whom no disavowal had been heard was with them on the march to power.

İYİ Party columnist: Dervişoğlu’s “third way” vision finding traction on the ground

The İYİ Party is making its mark on Turkish politics at a time overshadowed by fruitless quarrels and economic straits, according to a column in the newspaper Yeniçağ, which argues that leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu’s tireless energy and committed party organisation are turning the party into the strongest alternative to the government. Writing at a time when Turkish politics is described as blocked, the main opposition is embroiled in legal disputes and the burden of government economic policy on citizens is growing, the paper’s columnist İsmail Türk portrays Dervişoğlu as the shining star of centre politics, whose arrival has given the “third way” vision traction on the ground. Türk writes that he confesses to struggling at times, as a journalist, to keep up with Dervişoğlu’s whirlwind pace, praising his determination and industry, and argues that the leader’s sincere, direct style of communication with the public lends the party organisation great strength — a bond he describes as the greatest guarantee of the party’s future. Relaying his impressions from a recent visit to Cyprus, Türk says the trip was far from a routine protocol occasion and carried the determination of a movement marching towards power, adding that the belief and enthusiasm in the party organisation was palpable from the outset and that its cadres were building the ground district by district and street by street with a clear sense of purpose and high discipline. He argues that public and organisational trust in Dervişoğlu reinforces his unifying role in Turkish politics, that the party is rising as an alternative government, and that its potential to become the country’s second and then largest party grows by the day. Türk concludes by noting that the final word always belongs to the electorate, but says the picture he saw in the field shows the party preparing seriously and strongly for that goal, underlining his view that it will be a decisive main actor in the period ahead.

Claim that Çalık was transferred from Silivri to İzmir: lawyer responds

Melih Koçhan, the lawyer for Beylikdüzü mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who is in custody as part of the İBB case, has responded to claims that his client was transferred from Silivri prison to Buca in İzmir, denying the reports and drawing attention to the sensitivity of the matter for Çalık’s family. In a post on social media, Koçhan said there was no transfer order concerning Çalık: while some transfers had been carried out at the prison that day, none involved his client, and no such information or development had been conveyed to them during a lawyer’s visit held shortly beforehand. He said the family was understandably sensitive on the issue because of transfers that had taken place before previous visiting days, and that the circulating posts had caused them worry and unease. Koçhan added that any official development concerning his client would be shared publicly by his legal team, and asked the public to act only on confirmed information in the meantime.

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19 arrests in Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu investigation

Nineteen of the 27 suspects detained in the investigation being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the deaths of Great Unity Party (BBP) founding leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and those with him, killed when their helicopter crashed, have been remanded in custody. According to a statement from the office, detention orders were issued for 29 suspects found to have taken part in the offence of “premeditated intentional killing” in connection with the crash of the helicopter carrying Yazıcıoğlu and his companions, as part of the activities of the Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ). Twenty-seven suspects were detained in an operation carried out by the anti-organised-crime branch against 30 addresses across 10 Ankara-centred provinces. After their processing at the police station, all the suspects were referred to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and brought before the duty magistrate with a request for arrest; the court ordered 19 of them remanded in custody and eight released under judicial supervision. The chief prosecutor’s office said the investigation was being pursued meticulously and on multiple fronts.

Prosecutors Seek Arrest of Nasuh Mahruki Over July 15 Social Media Post

Turkish prosecutors have requested the arrest of mountaineer and writer Nasuh Mahruki after he was detained over a social media post about the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. In the post, Mahruki claimed the coup was a “controlled” operation that authorities had anticipated but allowed to unfold, alleging it ultimately enabled Turkey’s shift to the presidential system and benefited the United States. During police questioning, Mahruki confirmed authorship of the post, argued that he was expressing political criticism based on publicly known claims and events, denied inciting hatred or hostility, and requested his release, saying his criticism was directed at the U.S. and state institutions rather than the public.

Oğuzhan Uğur Detained in Investigation Into AHBAP Charity Donations

Turkish social media personality and digital content creator Oğuzhan Uğur has been detained as part of an investigation into the AHBAP charity. Authorities searched his home before taking him to Istanbul’s Vatan Police Headquarters. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that donations collected on behalf of AHBAP were transferred to accounts belonging to suspects, with detention orders issued for nine people. Uğur, several AHBAP employees, and individuals reportedly involved in the organization’s financial oversight are among those detained. The move comes days after Uğur publicly called for accountability regarding allegations involving both AHBAP and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), while officials have yet to issue a detailed public statement on the investigation.

🏛️ Politics

Turkey Enacts 12th Judicial Reform Package with Changes to Courts and Legal Procedures

Turkey’s Parliament has approved the 12th Judicial Reform Package, introducing wide-ranging changes to the country’s judicial system. The new law extends by four years the timeline for reducing the number of chambers at the Council of State (Danıştay), expands the categories of administrative cases that can be decided by a single judge, and allows broader appeal review in administrative courts. It also reforms enforcement and inheritance sale procedures, updates rules governing notarial records, revises training and evaluation standards for judicial assistants, and introduces disciplinary sanctions for judges and prosecutors who unnecessarily appoint expert witnesses in cases that can be resolved using their own legal expertise.

Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Approves Three International Agreements

Turkey’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee has approved three bills to ratify international agreements covering the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), healthcare cooperation with Syria, and amendments to the International Olive Council agreement. During the session, Committee Chair Fuat Oktay criticized a recent European Parliament resolution on the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, calling it “null and void” and rejecting its allegations against the Turkish Armed Forces. Lawmakers also discussed regional developments, including tensions in the Middle East, Syria’s political transition, and preparations for COP31, while government officials defended Turkey’s security measures during the recent NATO Summit and outlined plans to support Syria’s healthcare system.

Ukraine Awards Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Second-Class Order of Merit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan the Second-Class Order of Merit in recognition of his contributions to strengthening bilateral relations and interstate cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey. The honor is one of Ukraine’s highest state awards and is presented to both Ukrainian citizens and foreign officials for outstanding service in areas including diplomacy, public service, science, culture, and economic development.

Betting Investigation Targets Football Club Executives Across Turkey

Turkish authorities have launched a coordinated operation targeting 19 executives from clubs competing in the Turkish Football Federation’s professional leagues as part of an investigation into alleged illegal betting and match-fixing. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the probe is based on betting platform data from 2020–2026 and financial intelligence reports prepared by MASAK. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the investigation uncovered significant findings related to illegal betting activities and vowed that authorities would continue pursuing any actions that undermine the integrity and credibility of Turkish football. Those targeted include officials from clubs such as Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, Adana Demirspor, Gençlerbirliği, Boluspor, and others.

Judicial Panel Reassigned in Two High-Profile Ankara Criminal Cases

Turkey’s Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has replaced the judicial panel overseeing two of Ankara’s most closely watched criminal cases: the murder of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş and the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organized crime trial. Under the new judicial appointments, the president and members of the Ankara 32nd High Criminal Court have been reassigned, with a new panel formed from judges previously serving on the 11th, 27th, and 37th High Criminal Courts in Ankara. The changes come as proceedings continue in both the retrial of 76 defendants in the Kaplan case and the separate trial concerning the alleged unlawful acquisition of Sinan Ateş’s personal data.

Justice Minister Pledges Full Investigation Into Allegations Over AHBAP Earthquake Donations

Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said authorities will thoroughly investigate allegations concerning donations collected by the AHBAP charity following the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. In a statement, Gürlek said prosecutors have ordered a forensic financial review covering the entire donation process—from collection to expenditure—to determine whether funds were used as intended. He emphasized that all claims would be examined based on evidence and the rule of law, stating that no individual or organization is exempt from legal scrutiny and that any misuse of public donations would be fully investigated.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

AKP-DEM Tensions Emerge Over Legal Framework for “Terror-Free Turkey” Process

Disagreements have reportedly emerged between Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the DEM Party over the legal framework expected to support the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative. The DEM Party’s İmralı delegation has held talks with AK Party officials and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli as discussions continue over a potential framework law. According to reports, the main dispute centers on whether senior PKK figures should be included in the scope of the legislation, with DEM Party seeking broader coverage while the government is reportedly reluctant to extend the provisions to the organization’s top leadership. If the disagreement is not resolved, the proposed legal changes could be delayed until the new parliamentary session in October.

DEM Party’s İmralı Delegation Holds Talks With AK Party and Bahçeli Over “Terror-Free Turkey” Law

The DEM Party’s İmralı delegation has held meetings with AK Party officials and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli to discuss the legal framework for the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” process. According to party sources, there was agreement with the AK Party on passing a framework law before Parliament’s summer recess, while Bahçeli reiterated his support for the process. Talks reportedly focused on the scope of the legislation, including DEM Party demands for an inclusive framework, mechanisms for disarmament, and conditions related to Abdullah Öcalan and PKK members. AK Party sources said preparations for a 10–11 article temporary law are largely complete but have not yet been finalized into a parliamentary proposal, with further consultations with opposition parties expected before submission.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Report: New Party Effort Prioritizes MPs and Party Organizations Over Mayors

A team close to Özgür Özel is reportedly focusing first on attracting lawmakers and party organization members as part of preparations for a potential new political party. According to claims cited in Turkish media, the group aims to build the new formation around a significant number of MPs and support from provincial party organizations, while taking a more cautious approach toward municipal mayors due to local political dynamics. Sources close to Özel reportedly say discussions with mayors are ongoing, but decisions regarding their possible involvement will be addressed at a later stage after evaluating factors such as municipal council balances and potential political consequences.

CHP Removes Eight More Provincial Party Leaders Amid Internal Restructuring

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has dismissed eight more provincial leaders along with their executive and disciplinary boards, according to party spokesperson Müslim Sarı. The party also announced that new appointments have been made to seven previously vacated provincial organizations, while the provincial leaders of Konya and Tokat were referred to the High Disciplinary Board with a request for definitive expulsion. The moves come as CHP continues internal organizational changes and disciplinary procedures within its local structures.

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Two tourists detained at Hagia Sophia

Legal proceedings have been launched against two people accused of loudly reading the Bible in the visitor section of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul. Istanbul Police Directorate teams determined on 14 July that two people were reading the Bible aloud in the visitor section of the mosque. Officers went to the area and detained I.F., 32, and V.F., 36, who were found to have come to Türkiye as tourists. Proceedings were launched against them on a charge of inciting the public to hatred and enmity, and they were handed over to the Provincial Migration Administration.

Justice Minister Gürlek on AHBAP investigation: donations must be accountable

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has commented on the investigation into the AHBAP Association, in which 14 people including Haluk Levent have been remanded in custody, stressing that donations must be transparently audited and that the judicial process is being conducted on the basis of concrete evidence and legal rules rather than pressure from social media. Gürlek said all structures operating on donations must be accountable to the public, that account must be given for where and for what purpose every kuruş collected in donations was spent, and that no body operating on the nation’s trust could consider itself exempt from state oversight. Saying the investigation was proceeding within a legal framework, he objected to judicial processes being turned into the focus of ideological disputes, describing as futile any attempt to pressure independent courts by dragging judicial processes onto ideological ground. Gürlek stressed that the Turkish judiciary made its decisions according to law and evidence rather than agendas manufactured on social media, hashtag campaigns or perception operations, and said it would illuminate the process meticulously and in full, leaving no room for doubt, and that citizens should rest assured. His remarks came amid continuing public debate following the investigation and arrests, with the ministry conveying the message that the judicial process was being conducted by independent courts within legal procedures.

Drugs operation targets celebrities

Detention orders have been issued for 25 people, including the pop singer Sıla and the producer Fatih Aksoy, in a drugs investigation being conducted by the Istanbul Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, with nine people detained so far in the gendarmerie operation. In a statement, the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that, as part of the fight against narcotics threatening public health and safety, evidence supporting reasonable suspicion had been obtained that suspects known publicly as artists, actors, businesspeople and venue operators had used narcotic and stimulant substances, facilitated their use and provided premises for them. The Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command was instructed to detain and search the 25 suspects, carry out biological tests, take their statements and then present them to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Among the 25 names on the list shared by prosecutors are İlyas Yalçıntaş, Mehmet Fatih Aksoy, Ateş İnce, Ayşe Nur Balcı, Burak Çelik, Volkan Büyükhanlı, Sıla Gençoğlu and Melis Selçukoğlu.

New development in Gülistan Doku investigation: armoured-vehicle records requested

The Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested information and documents on all armoured vehicles used by the police and gendarmerie in Dersim on 5 January 2020, along with the personnel who served in them, as part of the investigation into Gülistan Doku. In a request for information and documents, the prosecutor’s office drew attention to the possibility that armoured vehicles belonging to the police and gendarmerie under the Tunceli Governor’s Office might have been involved in the incident, to be added to the case file in the investigation into the former Tunceli governor, the jailed Tuncay Sonel. According to the prosecutor’s letter reported by Sabah, it asked for all armoured vehicles used by police and gendarmerie units in the provincial centre on 5 January 2020 — including Ejder Yalçın, Kirpi, Cobra, Akrep, Ural and Shortland types — to be identified and sent as a list. The letter also sought the vehicles’ distinguishing features, requesting that their official and civilian number plates and colours be determined, and asked that the personnel who served in them be identified, with the full identity and service records of all staff established. It further requested the duty orders of all armoured vehicles deployed at or near the scene — including ring roads — on the day, whether on patrol or with right of passage, and asked that certified true copies of the armoured-vehicle entry and exit logs for 5 January 2020 be obtained from the relevant units and guard posts and sent.

🏛️ Politics

Minister Uraloğlu: era of domestic ship tracking begins in the Eastern Mediterranean

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced that a system set up in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as part of the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services project, run by the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs, will enter service on 20 July, saying it would protect Türkiye’s interests in the “Blue Homeland” and allow uninterrupted monitoring of ship traffic in the maritime area between the seas around the TRNC and Türkiye. In a written statement, Uraloğlu said final preparations were under way to bring the completed system into service, that construction, hardware installation and software integration had been finished, and that from 20 July ship traffic in the TRNC’s maritime jurisdiction would be effectively monitored. He said the project would further strengthen Türkiye’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and that the software and critical hardware, developed entirely with domestic and national means, would reinforce the country’s technological independence in the field. Noting that the project was run by the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs with HAVELSAN as contractor, he said the Vessel Traffic Services Centre established in Gazimağusa (Famagusta) and the traffic surveillance stations at Karpaz, Sadrazamköy and Çayırova had been integrated into the system, that automatic identification system (AIS) data at Selvitepe had been integrated with AIS and radar data at Kantara, and that remote backup and console installations had been carried out at the Mersin Vessel Traffic Services Centre. Uraloğlu said the surveillance stations were among the system’s main components, providing round-the-clock monitoring through radars, cameras, communication equipment, AIS systems and other sensors, so that any vessel within the service’s scope would be detected instantly and the data transmitted simultaneously to both the centre in the TRNC and the Mersin centre; the radars, he said, were SERDAR 7M units produced by ASELSAN with domestic and national means. He said the system would contribute to identifying vessels, monitoring and regulating traffic, transmitting navigational information and warnings, controlling sensitive areas, monitoring illegal activities, issuing danger warnings, informing relevant institutions in emergencies such as accidents and fires, and sharing meteorological data with vessels when needed.

Defence Ministry statement on S-400

The Ministry of National Defence has announced that work on the process of disposing of the S-400 air defence system is continuing on multiple fronts, adding that concrete developments regarding any sale or transfer will be shared with the public. Ministry spokesperson and press adviser Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk spoke at the weekly press briefing held at HAVELSAN, saying regarding the possible sale of the S-400 long-range regional air and missile defence system — bought from Russia and the cause of a crisis with the United States over F-35s — that work was continuing on multiple fronts and that concrete developments would be shared with the public when they arose. The decision to dispose of the system came after the NATO summit in Ankara. The United States imposed sanctions on Türkiye after Ankara bought the S-400 from Russia in 2019, and Türkiye was consequently removed from the F-35 next-generation fighter jet programme of which it was a part. On a resolution adopted in the European Parliament concerning Cyprus, the ministry said it strongly rejected what it called the baseless, irrational and base claims targeting the Turkish Armed Forces over the 1974 Peace Operation — which, it said, saved the Turkish Cypriot people from annihilation following systematic attacks, massacres and forced displacement on the island — and rejected the resolution itself, arguing that it ignored the massacres, mass graves and years of inhumane attacks suffered by the Turkish Cypriot people and was a clear sign of a one-sided approach based on Greek Cypriot propaganda.

NATO summit brought 900 million lira to Ankara’s economy

The 36th NATO summit of heads of state and government, hosted by Türkiye, generated significant economic activity in the tourism and service sectors, contributing around 900 million lira to the capital’s economy through accommodation, food and drink, transport, shopping and other spending. Ankara hosted the summit for the first time on 7-8 July, bringing vitality to the city’s tourism economy. Ankara provincial culture and tourism director Erhan Karakaya said hosting one of the world’s largest organisations was an important gain for the city, that the capital’s accommodation infrastructure could comfortably handle events of this scale, and that all sector representatives from hotels to small tradespeople had managed the event successfully, with the summit concluding with high guest satisfaction. He said three separate plans had been drawn up during the summit for heads of state, international press members and Defence Industry Forum participants, with separate working groups formed at hotels under the coordination of the Presidency and the Foreign Ministry. Some 23 hotels, most of them five-star, were planned for the event, hosting around 5,500 guests within the coordination arrangements, with the total number of foreign guests across the city during the summit reaching around 7,000 when other hotels were included. Karakaya said around 600 million lira in revenue was earned across the 23 hotels, and that with the food and drink sector, small tradespeople, shopping centres and other commercial activity included, the total economic contribution in the 1-8 July period reached 800-900 million lira — roughly a sixfold increase on the same period last year, which he said was normal for such summits. He stressed that international events brought more than short-term economic gains, contributing to Ankara’s international promotion and encouraging new tourism investment, and pointed to the importance of the city gaining more quality accommodation. Karakaya said English and Turkish promotional brochures with QR codes had been prepared and distributed for foreign press and delegations, that some guests had visited Ankara Castle, the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations and other historic sites and shopped from local tradespeople despite the busy schedule, and that preparations had begun for the 13th Organisation of Turkic States summit of heads of state in October, which he said would crown Ankara’s title as Cultural Capital of the Turkic World.

15 July digital memory portal ‘15temmuz.bik.gov.tr’ goes live

The Press Advertising Authority has launched a digital portal recording the first-hand testimonies of journalists who were on duty on the night of 15 July, alongside sections featuring the headlines of the time, 15 July through the eyes of young communicators, and a chronology. The “Digital Memory Portal”, opened to the public to mark the tenth anniversary of the 15 July coup attempt, is a comprehensive digital archive created to pass on the Turkish press’s testimony of the events to future generations, bringing together under one roof content ranging from the headlines of the period and interviews with journalists to the outputs of a journalism workshop and a chronology of the night. The portal aims to document the period from the perspective of the press and to provide a lasting resource for academic, professional and social memory, and is structured under four main headings. Its most comprehensive section, “Witnesses of the Headline”, features more than 60 written and video interviews with editors-in-chief, editors, news directors, page secretaries, photojournalists and cameramen who were on duty across the country that night, recording what happened, the news-production process and the professional struggle against the coup attempt as a documentary-style series, with the interview content linked to the relevant newspaper front pages so that visitors can hear a journalist’s personal memory of the night and see how it was reflected on the next morning’s pages. A further section brings together the newspaper headlines published after the coup attempt, while the “15 July Headlines Journalism Workshop” — held in cooperation with seven universities representing the country’s seven regions — brought future journalists together with the meaning and responsibility of 15 July, with participants designing their own original headlines. A final section presents a chronology setting out the developments hour by hour, from the first moments of the coup attempt to the point at which the will of the nation regained control.

BİSAM: hunger threshold tops 36,000 lira, poverty threshold exceeds 119,000 lira

The United Metal Workers’ Class Research Centre (BİSAM) has published its July 2026 hunger and poverty report, finding that the minimum spending a family of four needs for healthy nutrition — the hunger threshold — stands at 36,324 lira, while the poverty threshold, calculated on the basis of household consumption spending, has reached 119,330 lira. Milk and dairy products made up the highest daily cost group at 432.46 lira, followed by vegetables and fruit at 275.04 lira. Red meat, fish and chicken stood out at 198.06 lira, while spending was calculated at 24.70 lira for eggs, 26.81 lira for pulses, 18.83 lira for the rice, bulgur, pasta and flour group, 86.67 lira for bread, 78.42 lira for oil, 37.76 lira for sugar, honey, jam and molasses, and 32.05 lira for nuts. Milk and dairy products made up 35.7 per cent of daily spending, the fruit and vegetable group 22.7 per cent, the meat, egg and pulse group 23.3 per cent, and the bread and grain group 8.7 per cent. According to the report, the limited rise in the hunger threshold stemmed mainly from price increases in solid and liquid oils and nuts, while price falls in the cheese and in the meat, chicken and fish groups curbed the increase.

70 per cent of coffee consumption in Türkiye now takes place at home

According to research by Versuni, around 70 per cent of coffee consumption in Türkiye now takes place at home, with the study showing that traditional coffee culture has not been erased but rather enriched and layered by new-generation coffee habits. Traditional Turkish coffee is made in 53 per cent of homes. The company said Turkish consumers saw coffee not merely as a need but as a personalised experience shaped by mood, the time of day and the social setting, with taste and aroma the most important factors in their choices. Versuni said Türkiye’s relationship with coffee differed significantly from other markets: whereas in Western markets coffee mostly serves to start the day, Türkiye belonged to an “Eastern-type coffee culture” in which coffee is spread throughout the day and carries strong social meaning. According to the research, 72 per cent of Turkish consumers associated coffee with particular emotions and associations, against a global average of 61 per cent; 80 per cent said offering good coffee made a guest feel special, and 55 per cent linked coffee with shaking off the day’s fatigue. Beyond a single type of coffee, homes now consume a wide range: alongside traditional Turkish coffee in 53 per cent of homes, latte is prepared in 40 per cent, filter coffee in 33 per cent and cold coffee in 31 per cent. Changing lifestyles and growing technological means have turned homes into experience centres, with the roughly 70 per cent share of home consumption the clearest sign of this shift. Today’s consumer does not settle for the standard: 61 per cent expected the coffee they made at home to be as good as that in cafés, 69 per cent prioritised flavour while 55 per cent also expected speed, and 52 per cent changed their coffee choice according to their mood — indicating, the company said, that home coffee machines now need to offer a far more flexible, smart and varied menu.

Passenger numbers at Zafer Airport for June 2026 astonish

Zafer Airport drew barely any custom in the first half of 2026, a period for which a guarantee of 658,866 passengers had been given, with just 40,829 passengers using it between January and June — a deviation of 97 per cent from the guarantee. The first attempt to build the airport was made on 20 January 2010, but no one bid in the build-operate-transfer tender published that month, and the first tender was cancelled on 7 April 2010. After the project was altered following the lack of bids, a new tender was held on 18 May 2010 and won by the sole bidder, IC İçtaş İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, in return for an operating period of 29 years and 11 months. Built at a total cost of €50m with an annual capacity of 2 million passengers, the airport opened on 24 November 2012 at a ceremony attended by the then prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Under the airport’s implementation contract, the operating company was guaranteed fee revenue of €2 per departing domestic passenger and €10 per international passenger. According to a report by Mustafa Bildircin for BirGün, the airport’s total passenger guarantee — 850,000 in 2013, comprising 500,000 domestic and 350,000 international — had reached 1,318,033 by 2026, made up of 775,137 domestic and 542,596 international. Zafer has become a symbol of the damage the build-operate-transfer model has done to the budget, its lavish annual passenger guarantee not met in a single month since 2012. It did not break that tradition in 2026: against a six-month guarantee of 658,866 passengers for the January-June period, just 40,829 passengers used the airport in the first half of the year. Some €50m was spent building the airport, whose transfer to public ownership is set by the contract for 2044, with payments to be made until then calculated at €208m.

Will his extradition be sought? Decision point in the US for Zarrab

The sentence of Rıza Sarraf — tried in the United States on charges of breaching US sanctions on Iran and who cooperated with the authorities after turning state’s witness — has formally come to an end, with uncertainty remaining over whether Türkiye will seek his extradition. According to a report by Yılmaz Polat for Cumhuriyet, Sarraf, a money launderer known by various names — Rıza Sarraf on his Turkish identity papers, Reza Zarrab on his Iranian ID, “Aaron Goldsmith” on a US-approved temporary identity card after turning informant, and the nickname “Richard Ferrari” in Miami horse-racing circles, as well as the “Turkish Gatsby” for his billion-dollar luxury life in Türkiye — was arrested in 2016 and tried without detention after cooperating. The court ruled that the time he had spent in prison was sufficient, on the grounds that he had provided “high-level cooperation”, including testimony that he had paid millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Türkiye to facilitate the sanctions-busting scheme. Sarraf had spoken about numerous figures, among them ministers, saying he had bribed former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and that Çağlayan had demanded a half share of the profits from trade with Iran. Sarraf is known to hold Turkish, Iranian and Macedonian citizenship. As he has no legal basis to remain in the United States, it is unclear in which country he will continue his life; whether the US will grant him residence, and how much money he took there and whether it would be enough to set up a business and obtain a green card, are not known. Türkiye and the United States have an extradition treaty, but it contains exceptions — such as citizenship and political offences — that prevent or complicate extradition.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

MHP leader Bahçeli receives national footballer Demiral

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has received the national footballer Merih Demiral. In a post on the MHP’s social media account, the party said that Demiral, one of the players of the national football team, had visited Bahçeli in his office and presented him with his personal shirt.

AKP figures’ 15 July row rumbles on: Aydın Ünal’s striking words on “Varank”

A row over the 2016 coup attempt among AKP figures on the X platform is continuing, with AKP member Aydın Ünal making a striking post in support of Bursa MP Mustafa Varank in his dispute with former Culture and National Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik. Varank, one of the AKP’s founders’ targets, had used harsh words against Çelik, describing him on X as being on a “leash” and a “FETÖ postman”. In his post, Varank said that in the period when private tutoring centres were being closed, the Gezi events erupted and the 17-25 December operations were being staged, he and others had been fighting FETÖ and exposing it, and that Çelik had come to them under the AKP roof to say that “Mother Melek” — the mother of the fugitive Akın İpek, alleged to have been FETÖ’s financier — was very upset and that if they continued there was no telling what might happen to them, which Varank characterised as a threat. He said he and others were subsequently targeted by name by Fethullah Gülen himself, had their phones unlawfully tapped, were inserted into doctored audio recordings and had their names woven into the frame-up cases in an attempt to convict them, adding that he well knew what kind of “Akın İpek leash-wearer” and “FETÖ postman” Çelik — who now delivered speeches on democracy and law on opposition screens — was, and where his rancour came from. Çelik, one of the AKP’s founders known for his recent critical stances towards the government, replied on X that history was not recorded through lies and slander, calling the claim that he had threatened Varank an utter and base lie: the date Varank referred to was 2013, he said, after which he had continued as an AKP deputy chair and party spokesman for about two more years, asking why, if such a threat had occurred, Varank had stayed silent at the time. Çelik said his own statements made openly on television on the night of the coup attempt were on the record for anyone wishing to know where he stood, that history could not be recorded through insult and slander based on fabricated memories years later, and that the “wretched mindset” trying to silence and discredit every legitimate critic by branding them a “FETÖ member” was beneath him. Ünal, backing Varank, said he had posted his own tweets on 18 November 2013, when FETÖ was at the height of its power, and that a month later they had planned to include him in the 25 December file and arrest him, with Gülen personally singling out him and Varank by name. In those days, he said, they feared not the death threats of FETÖ members but the complaints of those close to them that they were “sowing discord” and “insulting Hocaefendi”; those same people later rose to important positions and then accused them of being FETÖ members, so that they even had to give statements to prosecutors. It did not matter, Ünal said, adding that they had fought a fine and thoroughly justified fight, and that, thank God, the country and the nation had won.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Adnan Beker files criminal complaint and 5-lira damages suit against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Independent MP Adnan Beker has filed a criminal complaint against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu over his use of the phrase “dirty man” about him, and has also brought a suit for 5 lira in moral damages. Beker, the Ankara MP who resigned from the CHP, sought both a criminal investigation and moral damages over Kılıçdaroğlu’s remarks. In the complaint submitted to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office by Beker’s lawyer, it was stated that Kılıçdaroğlu’s descriptions of Beker on a live broadcast as a “dirty man” and “a person with dirty relationships”, and similar phrases, targeted his personal rights, damaged his reputation in the public eye and constituted an offence. The complaint argued that the phrases rested on no concrete fact, contained grave accusations directly targeting the individual and exceeded the limits of freedom of expression, and noted that Kılıçdaroğlu’s remarks had reached wide audiences through television and social media, thereby violating Beker’s personal rights and humiliating him publicly; it requested that an investigation be conducted and a public case opened against Kılıçdaroğlu on charges including insult. Beker also filed a suit for moral damages at the Ankara Civil Court of First Instance, arguing that the remarks amounted to an attack on his personal rights, exceeded the limits of political criticism and harmed his standing in society, and claiming 5 lira in moral damages under the Turkish Civil Code and the Turkish Code of Obligations. The dispute arose after Kılıçdaroğlu, on a TV100 programme on 13 July 2026, questioned what business Beker had within the CHP, called him a man who had not voted for the party in the presidential election and a “dirty man”, challenged him to open a case so that he could recount his “dirtiness” in court, and said the CHP was a party of moral people.

CHP council member caught with 5kg of drugs resigns

A CHP council member for Talas municipality in Kayseri has resigned after being caught by gendarmerie teams with around 5kg of drugs. Following work by the Provincial Gendarmerie Command’s anti-narcotics branch, a vehicle was stopped in the Kocasinan district, and a search carried out by teams from the anti-narcotics branch, the intelligence branch and the Himmetdede gendarmerie station uncovered 5kg of drugs and a cannabis grinder. The driver who had entered the city with the drugs in the vehicle was identified as A.C.A., a CHP Talas municipal council member, who was detained and resigned from his seat on the council.

Buğra Gökçe lays bare the injustice in the İBB case

Buğra Gökçe, the jailed head of the Istanbul Planning Agency (İPA), has prepared a report following the end of the first session of the İBB case, writing that “organisation membership” stood out as the charge under which the most defendants remained in custody. In a letter sent to BirGün, Gökçe shared his report on the first session, noting that those tried on the allegation of organisation membership were held in custody more than any other. The first session of the case, held by the Istanbul 33rd Heavy Penal Court in the hall opposite the Marmara prison and begun amid disputes on 9 March, ended in further disputes on 8 July with the removal of Ekrem İmamoğlu from the courtroom. Over this period, hearings were held on 64 days and 89 defendants came to the stand to give their defence; the case, which began with 407 defendants in custody, saw that number rise to 414 with new additions, while 57 defendants were released under interim rulings, leaving 53 in custody as of now. The next monthly custody review is set for 9 August and the second session for 17 August. According to BirGün, the release and custody statistics Gökçe compiled by charge revealed under which accusations detention rulings were most concentrated. All three defendants facing no allegation of any act were released; among those facing a single alleged act, 36 were released and 11 kept in custody; among those facing two, seven were released and eight held; and among those facing three or four, three were released and six held. The most striking picture emerged among defendants facing five or more alleged acts: of 36, 28 remained in custody and only eight were released. Custody was most concentrated on the charges of membership of a criminal organisation and bribery: of 65 defendants accused of organisation membership, 22 were released and 43 kept in custody, making it the charge under which the most remained held, while for bribery three were released and 17 held — though the balance reversed for those accused of mediating, aiding or attempting bribery, of whom 10 were released and seven held. On the charge of rigging tenders, one of the broadest in the file, the numbers were close, with 22 released and 23 kept in custody; for aggravated fraud against a public institution there were 3 releases against 12 custody rulings, and for extortion in office two were released and six held. The charge under which releases most outnumbered those held was the unlawful dissemination of personal data, with 12 released and four held. By contrast, laundering assets derived from crime stood at two released and seven held, laundering criminal proceeds at six released and 17 held, and forgery of official documents at two released and eight held. A similar picture emerged on environmental and mining charges: violating the Mining Law, the Forest Law, causing environmental pollution and violating the Tax Procedure Law each stood at two released and eight held.

Investigation launched into Nasuh Mahruki

An investigation has been launched into Nasuh Mahruki over a social media post about 15 July, and shortly afterwards a detention order was issued for him. The Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had launched an investigation of its own motion into the former AKUT chairman over the post. In its statement, the office said an investigation had been launched of its own motion over a post about the 15 July coup attempt made by a user named Nasuh Mahruki on a social media platform. A detention order was subsequently issued as part of the investigation, with the office saying instructions had been given to detain Ali Nasuh Mahruki — who it said had made baseless claims about the coup attempt via the X account under that name — on a charge of inciting the public to hatred and enmity or of denigration under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code. Mahruki, born in Istanbul on 21 May 1968, graduated from Bilkent University’s business faculty in 1992 after attending Şişli Terakki High School, took up mountaineering in 1988 at Bilkent University’s nature sports society and chaired it for three years, and is also involved in caving, scuba diving, paragliding, motor sports, cycling and sailing. A founding member of AKUT, he resigned as chairman and board member of the search-and-rescue association on 28 November 2016 and, by a decision taken in 2019, also resigned from his honorary chairmanship.

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Second wave of operations in AHBAP investigation: detention orders for 17 people

The investigation into the AHBAP Association is widening, with the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command issuing detention orders for a further 17 people in a case in which the association’s founder, Haluk Levent, is already in custody. The second-wave operation was carried out as part of the investigation being conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is understood to concern charges of violating the Law on Associations and of laundering assets derived from crime. Levent, the singer who founded the association, had previously been detained in Bursa; he is reported to remain in custody in Istanbul and is expected to be referred to the courthouse once the detention period is complete. The second wave, carried out in the early hours, saw detention orders issued for 17 people, with the investigation continuing under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Roads to be closed in Istanbul tomorrow for 15 July commemorative run

The Istanbul Governor’s Office has announced the roads that will be closed to traffic on Wednesday 15 July for a commemorative run held as part of the events marking the anniversary, with numerous points along the Beşiktaş, Üsküdar and 15 July Martyrs’ Bridge route closed to vehicles between 3am and 3pm. The Traffic Inspection Branch of the Istanbul Police Directorate said certain roads would be shut for the “15 July Democracy and Martyrs’ Commemoration Run”, held as part of the 15 July Democracy and National Unity Day events. According to a written statement from the governor’s press and public relations directorate, many points connecting to the 15 July Martyrs’ Bridge — chiefly in the districts of Beşiktaş and Üsküdar — will be closed to vehicle traffic during those hours, and drivers have been asked to use alternative routes to avoid difficulty. In Beşiktaş, the closures cover the Barbaros Boulevard Sait Çiftçi bridge slip road, the slip road above the Sait Çiftçi variant, the Yıldız Posta Street southbound D-100 slip road at Gayrettepe, the Barbaros Boulevard southbound D-100 slip road at Zincirlikuyu, and the northbound D-100 slip road from Barbaros Boulevard towards Sarıyer. On the 15 July Martyrs’ Bridge, the southbound D-100 at the Beşiktaş-Sarıyer junctions and the northbound D-100 at the Ümraniye-Altunizade junctions will be closed. In Üsküdar, the affected points are the Beylerbeyi bridge slip road, the Kısıklı Street bridge slip road at Altunizade, the Altunizade junction and the Tophaneli Street bridge slip road.

Nemesis of the tick returns: partridges and pheasants ready for battle

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced that a total of 51,000 wild birds will be released into the wild across 62 provinces by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP). Thousands of birds reared each year at the ministry’s conservation stations are sent to suitable areas to prevent damage to the ecological system and strengthen wildlife populations, with breeding carried out continuously at partridge stations in Afyonkarahisar, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat, Gaziantep and Malatya and at pheasant centres in Samsun, Istanbul and Gümüşhane. Yumaklı said the partridges and pheasants released played a key role in the biological fight against invasive species such as ticks and the brown marmorated stink bug thanks to their natural hunting instincts. He said the directorate had released 36,250 partridges and 9,000 pheasants in 2025 and aimed this year to return 51,000 birds to the wild, comprising 39,250 partridges and 11,750 pheasants, adding that around one million birds — some 750,000 partridges and 250,000 pheasants — had been released over the past decade. Technical analyses and habitat assessments have been completed, he said, with releases due to begin at designated sites after field work. Criteria for choosing release points include the birds’ ecological needs, the adequacy of food and water sources, shelter, predator pressure and the intensity of human activity; under the plan, chukar partridges are being released at 116 sites across 50 provinces, pheasants at 34 sites in 16 provinces and grey partridges at six sites in five provinces, with the release areas closed entirely to hunting for three years to protect these sensitive ecosystems. Special measures are also applied beforehand: Yumaklı said partridges were treated against tick infestation before release, while pheasants would be sent particularly to provinces in the Black Sea region as part of efforts against the brown marmorated stink bug, which causes major damage to farmland, stressing that the aim was to conserve wildlife through sustainable management and pass it on to future generations in good health.

Union purge continues at Italian High School: Özgür Doğu dismissed

Özgür Doğu, the Turkish deputy head teacher at the Private Italian High School, has been dismissed at the school where a collective bargaining agreement was signed following a 123-day strike by unionised teachers. Two union-member teachers had already been let go in recent days. Speaking to Cumhuriyet, Doğu said that during the strike he had effectively been placed in administrative isolation by the Italian head teacher because of his union membership, adding that he was not included in any management meetings and was not consulted on decisions. According to a report by Çağdaş Bayraktar for the paper, Doğu recalled that, while expecting the agreement to bring industrial peace and to see the rights secured by the signed contract implemented, they had first learnt that the contracts of two unionised teachers had been terminated; ministry inspectors who came to the school following a union application confirmed what had happened, he said, and warned of sanctions over the unacceptable situation. Just 24 hours later, he said, he was informed that his own contract had been terminated for cause and without compensation, and he claimed the school’s lawyer had stood over him as deputy head teacher and told him to clear his room at once, that the lock would be changed and that he must take his belongings and leave the school immediately — an act he described as a clear attack on his professional standing and personal rights. Doğu said that, as a teacher who had faced no disgraceful accusation or allegation, he had been subjected to crude and undeserved treatment by his employer and the employer’s lawyer, and that he had heard the removal of unionised teachers would continue, with staff let go in groups rather than en masse so as not to provoke a public backlash.

Impound-lot racket uncovered: 34 detained across six provinces

Thirty-four suspects have been detained in an Istanbul-centred operation across six provinces, accused of stripping vehicles held in judicial impound lots and making unlawful gains, with the parts sold both to buyers and as spares. The suspects were caught in a simultaneous operation on suspicion of aggravated fraud, rigging tenders and abuse of custodial duty. The investigation, launched by the Istanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, began following allegations that vehicles under seizure or subject to court orders were being dismantled at impound lots. According to evidence obtained through technical and physical surveillance, the suspects were found to have stripped vehicles held in the lots, fitted old parts to vehicles they had bought at auction, sold some parts to people who had acquired vehicles through enforcement proceedings and put others on the market as second-hand spares. A total of 34 suspects were detained in the simultaneous raids in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Kocaeli, Şanlıurfa and Tekirdağ, and the investigation is continuing.

🏛️ Politics

2.5 million people changed province in Türkiye: which city received the most migrants?

According to figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), 2,475,019 people migrated between provinces in Türkiye in 2025, with Istanbul receiving the most incomers while also being the province that lost the most people, and the greatest mobility recorded in the 20-24 age group. The institute’s internal migration bulletin shows that the share of the population migrating between provinces, which stood at 3.18 per cent in 2008, has fluctuated over the years and reached 2.87 per cent in 2025; of those who moved, 47.5 per cent were men and 52.5 per cent women. Istanbul received the most migrants, at 329,912 people, followed by Ankara with 176,833 and İzmir with 106,083, while the provinces receiving the fewest were Ardahan (4,914), Bayburt (5,064) and Tunceli (6,078). Istanbul also saw the largest outflow, with 371,258 people leaving, followed by Ankara (145,661) and İzmir (98,728), with Ardahan (5,916), Bayburt (6,388) and Tunceli (7,558) losing the fewest. The greatest mobility last year was in the 20-24 age group, with 480,185 people, of whom 41.5 per cent were men and 58.5 per cent women. Of all those who moved between provinces, 564,114 did so as dependents of a household member, while 510,226 cited better housing and living conditions and 406,144 education. Among men, the leading reason was better housing and living conditions (253,093), while among women it was moving as a household dependent (334,900); other significant reasons were dependent migration and job transfers or changes for men, and education and better housing and living conditions for women. Within the most mobile 20-24 age group, education was the leading factor, cited by 179,612 people, followed by starting or finding work (75,591) and better housing and living conditions (42,391). Those who moved to another province after the earthquake of 6 February 2023 and have since returned to the provinces where they lived beforehand were counted under the heading of returning to family or their home region.

Erdoğan: NATO summit showed those who vowed to demolish the Presidential Complex what it is for

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the NATO summit in Ankara had shown those who had asked what need there was for the Presidential Complex, and the “poor of vision” who had said they would demolish it if they came to power, exactly what the building was for and what it meant for Türkiye, adding that alienation was bad but that alienation from and hostility towards one’s own country and nation was far worse. Responding to criticism of the summit’s organisation and of the use of the Ottoman military band and janissary costumes at the ceremony, Erdoğan said that, like it or not, there was no longer a Türkiye that repudiated its heritage, but rather one that embraced its civilisational and cultural legacy, and that the Republic was the latest link in a millennia-old chain of states. He said there was a marginal group in Türkiye unable to tolerate a single positive sentence about their own state and government, who could not stomach the praise offered by visiting leaders, ministers and journalists, and who produced outlandish claims to smear the summit and Türkiye’s hosting of it — a group he said was a matter for medicine rather than politics. He described the Presidential Complex as the seat of representation of the state and the nation, the meeting point of Türkiye’s power and standing, where he said the heart of global diplomacy now beat. Erdoğan thanked the people of Ankara for their patience over the disruption caused by the security measures, said the Etimesgut military airfield had been restored and opened to service as a modern airport for the capital, and noted that Ankara would host the Organisation of Turkic States summit on 29-30 October. On the summit’s substance, he said the Ankara meeting had clarified Türkiye’s central role, embodying a new period in which European allies took on more responsibility and burdens were shared more fairly; that the removal of obstacles and restrictions to defence-industry cooperation had been placed on record; that a centre of excellence against unmanned systems would be established in Konya; and that Türkiye had raised the attacks suffered in Gaza and Lebanon and again stressed a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war. He called Donald Trump’s official visit — the first by a US president in 17 years — highly significant, welcomed his praise for the country and the summit, and said they would continue working together on reaching a $100bn bilateral trade target and on regional peace and stability. Turning to the economy, Erdoğan listed measures for exporters and manufacturers, including a corporate tax rate cut to 12.5 per cent for the export sector, rediscount credit volumes raised to 5bn lira a day, monthly employment support of 3,500 lira per job and a 100bn lira credit package, and announced that the budget of the investment-linked advance credit programme would be expanded to 750bn lira, alongside a further 250bn lira favourable credit package for manufacturing — opening the way, he said, to a total of one trillion lira in favourable credit for the sector.

Longer consultation times dropped after NATO summit

The practice of extending consultation times at outpatient clinics — introduced as part of measures to reduce hospital congestion ahead of the NATO summit — has been abandoned, with consultation times falling back to as little as three minutes. According to a report in BirGün, temporary arrangements made to public services because of the summit held in Ankara on 7-8 July have now been reversed: appointment numbers at outpatient clinics had been cut and consultation times lengthened beforehand, but the previous system was restored once the summit ended. The intensive appointment system, which for a long time has resulted in patients being seen roughly every three minutes at some city hospitals, had been temporarily altered for the summit. The trainee doctors’ commission of the Ankara Medical Chamber had announced that, between 6 and 8 July, the number of appointments opened per doctor through the central appointment system fell from around 43 to 21, with consultation times extended to about 20 minutes. Doctors, scientists and health professional bodies have long stressed that adequate time must be allotted to each patient for quality care, arguing that consultations of under five minutes harm diagnosis and treatment, increase burnout among doctors and heighten the risk of violence in healthcare settings. The measures introduced to ease summit-related congestion showed that consultation times could be lengthened — but the practice was dropped once the summit was over, with appointment numbers raised again and the previous arrangements reinstated.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Vice-President Yılmaz: a new constitution cannot be made by a single party

Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz has said a new constitution is not something a single political party or the People’s Alliance alone can produce, but a process that must advance through broad consensus and the contribution of the parties in parliament, expressing the hope that all political actors would engage constructively. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex, Yılmaz said the government had largely completed its own preparations, with technical assessments and fine detail still being worked on, and that these would be presented to the President as soon as they were finished — though it was too early to speak of a firm timetable. He said the next stage depended on the consensus that emerged in parliament. On legislation relating to the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process, Yılmaz said intensive efforts were under way to establish the necessary legal framework before parliament rises, noting that the parliamentary commission had completed its work and set out a roadmap for the required regulations, that all groups except one party had taken part, and that the next stage was essentially for parliament to decide; he expressed hope that the commission’s shared will would carry into the legislative process. Asked about the European Parliament’s resolution on Türkiye’s 1974 intervention in Cyprus, Yılmaz said the decision had no legal or moral basis, that Türkiye regarded it as null and void and rejected it outright, and that the parliament had acted under the influence of Greek Cypriot lobbies in a way that damaged its impartiality and institutional standing — adding that the EU had lost the ability to view the Cyprus question impartially from the moment it admitted the Greek Cypriot administration as a member. He argued that if history warranted condemnation, attention should turn to the conditions that made the operation necessary, recalling the coup and the actions of EOKA groups, and questioned the European Parliament’s silence over the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, saying it was unacceptable for those who failed to show such sensitivity to take politically motivated decisions on Cyprus. He said the operation, carried out under Türkiye’s rights and responsibilities as a guarantor, had brought peace and security to the island for both Turkish and Greek Cypriots and prevented far greater tragedies, and expressed the hope that members of the European Parliament would adopt a fairer, more balanced approach based on historical facts, saying its duty was to defend Europe’s fundamental values, the law and fairness rather than to serve the political calculations of particular circles.

Bahçeli criticises Trump over Iran: trust in peace has been shaken

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has sharply criticised US President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, saying that the neutralising of an agreement within barely a month has damaged the will for peace and stressing that Iran has a right to protect its security. Bahçeli said Iranian territory had been struck again and Iranian citizens killed, that these facts must be acknowledged, that treating this as an isolated attack was not a matter of conscience, and that trust in peace had been shaken. No state, he said, would accept being attacked while expecting the agreement it had signed to protect it; security concerns could be discussed at the negotiating table, but they could not be made the pretext for a greater crisis, and agreements could not be conducted through personal initiatives. Turning to the Ankara NATO summit, Bahçeli said it would be shallow to read it as an ordinary diplomatic exercise, arguing that it had taken stock of more than 70 years of alliance law and addressed a wide security belt at once — from the spirit of collective defence under Article 5 and the future of military support to Ukraine, to procurement moves worth over $50bn, joint production in the defence industry, Europe’s long-deferred deterrence gaps, contradictions over embargoes and restrictions among allies, Iran’s nuclear programme, navigational safety in the Strait of Hormuz, Syria, and sensitivities in the Eastern Mediterranean. He said Türkiye had become one of the founding actors of the new era, not merely through its strategic position but through its historical experience, political will and national strength, and that NATO stood at the dawn of a new age in which paper commitments must be turned into production, capability and deterrence. Security, he argued, would be measured not by the size of budgets but by the continuity of production, and he asked whether the alliance would stop treating the defence industry as the privileged domain of a few countries and remove covert embargoes, licence restrictions and supply obstacles among allies. He welcomed the will shown towards lifting CAATSA sanctions and revisiting the F-35 process, but said the erosion of trust caused by years of unfair treatment of Türkiye had to be repaired. Bahçeli also emphasised the role of space, cyber and intelligence in the new security age, praising the İMECE satellite as evidence of a state mindset that thinks about defence in space as well as on land, at sea and in the air, and listing an array of domestic systems — among them KAAN, KIZILELMA, AKINCI, AKSUNGUR, TCG Anadolu, MİLGEM, the Altay tank, the Tayfun and Bora missiles, and the Siper and Hisar systems of the “Steel Dome” — as uncompromising guardians of Türkiye’s sovereign rights. On Europe, he said the continent stood at a crossroads, that Türkiye wanted Europe to be honest with itself, and that Türkiye’s place was not in Europe’s waiting room. He sharply criticised remarks by the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis as grave, saying no one could make their own disputes a matter for Europe, that Türkiye was not a bargaining chip and its national interests could not be up for negotiation. Türkiye, he concluded, was not an option for Europe but a security rope by which it might climb out of the well it had fallen into, and those who accepted this would prosper while those who did not would sooner or later fall apart.

Kılıçdaroğlu: there can be no parallel structure within the party

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said that while it is natural for different figures to compete democratically within the party, parallel structures cannot be permitted, and that there is no justified reason for a split in the CHP. Answering questions in a live broadcast on TV100, he said the CHP was among the parties where internal debate was conducted most intensely and in a civilised manner, described what happened at the party’s 38th ordinary congress as a first for Türkiye, and stressed that a party’s delegates must cast their votes according to their own independent will. Recalling that the “absolute nullity” case was brought in Bursa, he noted that the claim in it — that some delegates’ will had been bought with money or favours — came not from members of other parties but from CHP members themselves: it was CHP members who took the money, CHP members who gave statements, and CHP mayors who said they had handed over money for the congress, with one saying they had been taken out, entertained at a nightclub and sent home with money in their pockets. He said people assumed only he had returned to the CHP after the ruling, when in fact former party assembly and executive committee members had returned too, and that the ruling told the old administration there had been irregularity at the 38th congress and a new one should be held — which, he said, they would do. Asked whether he had hesitated over the decision, he said no, adding that he had told visitors beforehand that he would never accept a trustee appointment, but that if absolute nullity were ruled the whole former administration would return and they would sit and talk; the party, he said, needed to be cleansed of corruption, since its defining feature was moral superiority. On claims that group chairman Özgür Özel would found a new party, Kılıçdaroğlu asked what reasoned justification there was for a split, saying it would be graver still if the reason given was that he intended to weed out thieves. He said no CHP MP or mayor could avoid being held to account, and questioned the propriety of remaining in the party as group chairman while working to establish a separate one, adding that they had not fought or come to blows and could of course talk. Asked whether he would call on Özel not to leave, he said Özel was free to compete within the party — different actors had contended within the CHP before — but that a parallel structure within it was unacceptable, noting that the party already had a spokesperson while the other camp had formed its own executive committee and spokesperson, which he said was untenable. Asked whether this was an allusion to FETÖ, he said he would say nothing more for now but would warn his colleagues: touring the provinces, districts and mayors to declare a candidacy for the leadership and seek votes was entirely normal, but setting up separate, parallel structures was not.

Firm overpaid 21.8m lira in tender belongs to an Erdoğan associate

A company belonging to Hasan Dağcı — said to have served as deputy private secretary during Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s time as mayor of Istanbul — was overpaid by 21.8 million lira in a Turkish State Railways (TCDD) tender for a grade-separated junction. According to a report by Mustafa Bildircin for BirGün, the tender for the construction of the Alifuatpaşa junction and its connecting roads was held on 14 July 2023 by TCDD’s First Regional Materials Directorate and, awarded through a negotiated procedure, went to Dağcı’s firm Belen İnşaat, with a contract worth 262,884,000 lira signed between the company and the regional directorate. Auditors examining the works in 2023 found that revised unit prices had been calculated without following the procedures set out in the regulations: unit-price calculations were revised for certain work items, producing new prices lower than those annexed to the contract, yet the company was paid at the contract rates rather than the revised ones. On that basis, auditors recorded an overpayment of 21,854,358 lira excluding VAT, and TCDD’s management was warned that, where revised unit prices apply, the lower of the official published analyses and rates or the contract’s annexed unit prices should be taken as the basis. Dağcı, a businessman known for securing large public tenders, came to public attention over the so-called “Yalı Partisi” — a gathering allegedly held at his home before the 2023 elections with the aim of obstructing the CHP’s presidential candidate — claims he denied. He began his career as a journalist at a local newspaper and at one point ran the canteens of the İDO ferry operator; he has denied having served as Erdoğan’s deputy private secretary at the Istanbul municipality. Alleged to have amassed his wealth through money-driven ties to politics, Dağcı said in a statement in 2023 that he had not become rich through the AK Party and had been wealthy beforehand.

MHP marks anniversary of Kirkuk massacre

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has issued a commemorative message on its social media account to mark the anniversary of the Kirkuk massacre, saying it remembers the Turkmen kinsmen killed with prayers and mercy. The message was published to mark the anniversary of the massacre, which took place on 14 July 1959. In the statement posted on the party’s social media account, the MHP said that on the anniversary of the Kirkuk massacre it remembered with prayers those Turkmen kinsmen who were killed.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Çankaya mayor Hüseyin Can Güner referred to courthouse

Hüseyin Can Güner, the mayor of Çankaya, has been referred to the courthouse after the completion of his questioning at the police station. Güner was detained as part of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into Çankaya municipality. During police questioning he was asked about cancelled cleaning tenders, and said the tenders had been annulled because competition could not be ensured, that the decision had subsequently been found appropriate by the Public Procurement Authority and ruled lawful by the Council of State, and that later tenders had concluded at lower prices, thereby serving the public interest. He said there had been no steering of any tender, that he had neither taken nor given instructions and had obtained no benefit from anyone. The operation against the CHP-run municipality was carried out on the morning of Saturday 11 July, with searches at the municipal building and affiliated units and detention orders issued for 36 people, including Güner. The mayor, who said he would be in Ankara within a few hours and had sent a spare key to the teams who had come to search his home, was detained at Esenboğa Airport on his return to Ankara from Northern Cyprus.

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FETÖ operation launched across all 81 provinces, targeting 968 suspects

The Interior and Justice Ministries have announced that operations have been launched against 968 suspects in all 81 of Türkiye’s provinces targeting the Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ), with Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and Justice Minister Akın Gürlek simultaneously sharing the two ministries’ joint press statement on their social media accounts. The statement, issued as the anniversary of the 15 July coup attempt is marked, remembered those who died and paid tribute to the veterans of that night, saying the fight against FETÖ was being pursued with the same determination despite the passing years. It said that, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the state had conducted a major purge across all its institutions since 15 July and mounted an uncompromising struggle against the network, and that the operations launched that morning against 968 suspects in 81 provinces followed joint work by the chief public prosecutors’ offices, provincial police directorates and gendarmerie commands. Ankara, İzmir and Istanbul were the provinces with the highest numbers of suspects, while work continued in other provinces against the organisation’s current structures, its covert wing and associated elements. Both ministries pledged to continue the effort in close coordination and vowed that no terrorist organisation or centre of tutelage would be allowed to endanger the nation’s will, the state’s survival or the legal order. In his own remarks, Çiftçi thanked Erdoğan for his leadership and Gürlek for his support, saying no force would prevent Türkiye from reaching its goal of a strong country under the “Turkish Century” vision, while Gürlek said the coup attempt had not been forgotten, remembered those killed ten years ago, and pledged to uphold the trust left by them, the sacrifice of the veterans and the nation’s will to independence.

Prosecutors seek at least 10 years in prison for Saran and Cebeci

Prosecutors have called for prison sentences of no less than 10 years for the former Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Saran and the broadcaster Ela Rümeysa Cebeci in an indictment prepared on charges of trafficking or supplying narcotic or stimulant substances. According to a report in Sabah, the indictment in the drugs investigation targeting celebrities has been completed, with prosecutors seeking that Saran and Cebeci each be sentenced to at least 10 years for the offence, and the document has been sent to the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court for consideration. Saran, a businessman who gave a statement to prosecutors at the weekend, said he had been the victim of slander: he stated that he had met Cebeci three years ago when she messaged him, that he had never used narcotics with her, and that many people had given him organic sedatives after he was defamed during the Fenerbahçe presidential elections, adding that he did not believe these contained any narcotic active substance. Asked about a message from Cebeci cited in witness statements in the file — in which she reportedly described something as marvellous and asked him to bring some from “that garden” next time — Saran said it was a joke and a metaphor the two had developed between themselves based on lines from a film they had watched, and that he had absolutely no connection to any such thing.

Detained lawyer Ece Güner says Haluk Levent asked her for a loan after seeing her large donations to AHBAP

The lawyer Ece Güner, detained in the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into the Ahbap Association, has said that Haluk Levent, the association’s head, approached her after she made a large earthquake donation and asked for a temporary personal loan, saying he was in great difficulty — and that she struggled to get the money back, concluding that she had been deceived. In the investigation, it is alleged that Levent used his employees’ accounts and that transfers worth millions of lira took place between them; Levent was detained in Bursa after an arrest warrant was issued for him, and the prosecutor’s office has claimed that donations made to the association by citizens on 6 February were transferred to personal accounts, used for betting and passed to third parties. Güner was detained as one of the names to whom money was transferred, with allegations that she had sent large sums to three of Levent’s employees in exchanges totalling around 80 million lira. In statements on social media, Güner said she had never been the lawyer of Ahbap or of Levent, that she had made dozens of donations to the association over the years like tens of thousands of other citizens, had paid for people’s operations and had made one of the largest donations after the earthquake, which she said was on record and had been announced at the time. She said Levent, apparently having seen the size of her donations, approached her for a temporary personal loan, describing it as a matter of life and death and promising repayment within a month, and telling her he was the most trustworthy person in Türkiye, that people entrusted their millions to him and that he would repay immediately. She said she trusted him but was only barely able to recover the loan after about a year of effort, stressing that the donation and the loan were separate and that she had recovered only the loan; she added that she did not know whether Levent was guilty or innocent, but that she had never donated to him or to Ahbap again, and that she and her family had been deeply upset by the ordeal. Speaking to the journalist Seyhan Avşar, Güner said she was not Ahbap’s lawyer, that Levent had called saying he badly needed money and she had made a donation, which he later repaid; asked how a donation could be taken back, she replied that it was not a donation, that the sum was extremely high, and that she had been deceived. Responding to those questioning how a lawyer could lend such sums, she said she had been a lawyer for 30 years, had founded and owned one of Türkiye’s largest international law firms, had been among the country’s top taxpayers for most of that time, kept all her tax records, and had closed her office on entering politics, adding that at the time of the loan, just after the earthquake, she had been entirely convinced that Levent was a great philanthropist going through a temporarily bad period, and that everything about her was fully transparent.

ISIS suspect Talip Güler, subject of a yellow notice, captured and brought to Türkiye

The National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) has captured and brought to Türkiye Talip Güler, known by the code name Abdüsselam Türki, who was the subject of a yellow notice and who operated within ISIS’s so-called Türkiye Province structure, known as the Faruk Office. Intelligence work by MİT established that Güler is the brother of Kasım Güler, who before 2021 operated as ISIS’s “Türkiye province chief” and as the finance officer of the group’s Faruk Office. Talip Güler was found to have crossed illegally into Syria in January 2014, where he was determined to have carried out his activities in contact with organisation figures, chief among them his brother. After capturing Kasım Güler in Syria in June 2021 and bringing him to Türkiye, MİT continued its work on his brother, tracking his activities step by step before seizing him and bringing him from conflict zones to Türkiye. In his statement, Talip Güler gave details of his radicalisation in Türkiye, his illegal crossing into Syria and his joining of ISIS, as well as the activities he had carried out within the group alongside Kasım Güler. MİT is continuing its work to prevent ISIS’s planning of attacks against Türkiye, expose the group’s recruitment and seize its attack plans.

Second hearing in Kubilay Kaan Kundakçı murder trial

The trial over the killing of the footballer Kubilay Kaan Kundakçı in an armed attack in Istanbul’s Ümraniye district resumes today. The hearing at the Anadolu 27th Heavy Penal Court will continue the prosecution of the remanded defendants Aleyna Kalaycıoğlu, Alaattin Kadayıfçıoğlu, Hüseyin Can Avcı, Mustafa Rece, Metin Kadayıfçıoğlu and Ahmet Özkoç, along with Zuhal Kalaycıoğlu, who is not in custody. According to the indictment prepared by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Kundakçı died as a result of the armed attack in Ümraniye; in the investigation carried out in connection with the incident, prosecutors sought life sentences for Alaattin Kadayıfçıoğlu and Aleyna Kalaycıoğlu, and up to five years in prison for İzzet Yıldızhan. Following the acceptance of the indictment, the case began at the Anadolu 27th Heavy Penal Court, where proceedings over the charges against the defendants continue.

🏛️ Politics

Cabinet meets today: what is on Erdoğan’s agenda?

The cabinet convenes today at the Presidential Complex in Ankara under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the fallout from the NATO summit expected to be taken up. Meeting on the first day of the new week, the cabinet’s first agenda item will be the NATO summit of heads of state and government held in Ankara, with the decisions taken there to be assessed. The reverberations of Erdoğan’s meeting with US President Donald Trump will also be reviewed, with the lifting of CAATSA sanctions, developments regarding Türkiye’s return to the F-35 programme and cooperation in the defence industry among the topics on the agenda. Regional developments will likewise be discussed: renewed fighting in the area of the Strait of Hormuz and the latest situation centred on Iran will be taken up under the security heading, while Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the humanitarian situation and ceasefire efforts will also be assessed. The legal steps to be taken as part of the process known as “Terror-Free Türkiye”, along with the economy, will also feature on the cabinet’s agenda.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Efforts to strengthen national memory of 15 July discussed

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has received İsmail Hakkı Turunç, chairman of the board of the 15 July Association, and an accompanying delegation, in a meeting at which efforts to strengthen the place of 15 July in the national memory were discussed, with Ersoy stressing that upholding the trust left by those who died and passing on the sacrifice of the veterans to future generations was a shared responsibility. The meeting was held at the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Istanbul and addressed work aimed at reinforcing the place of 15 July in collective memory. In an assessment posted on his social media accounts, Ersoy said they had reviewed efforts to keep the national memory alive and had held a productive discussion on themes that would contribute to strengthening that shared memory. Drawing attention to the importance of conveying 15 July accurately to future generations, he said it was the shared responsibility of all to uphold the trust left by the country’s martyrs and to pass on the sacrifice of its veterans correctly to coming generations. Ersoy thanked Turunç and the delegation for their visit and for their contributions to the discussion.

Hatimoğulları: operations against the CHP have begun to sabotage the process

DEM Party co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları has said that operations targeting the CHP have effectively begun to sabotage the peace process, arguing that such practices are all the more striking at a time when peace is being discussed and that the government ought to be mindful of this. In an interview with the newspaper Nefes, she said the anticipated “root law” would mark the first legal and judicial step taken on the Kurdish question, which was why her party attached importance to it and called it a root law — one that should contribute to the emergence and strengthening of other laws and other foundations within the resolution process. She said she did not know how the government was thinking, but that the essential question was whether a sincere step would be taken towards a political and legal resolution of the Kurdish question; DEM had not seen the AKP’s draft, she added, and despite reports that a consensus had been reached on a joint text that had been shared with her party, no text had reached them and they did not know what the law would contain. Hatimoğulları said Öcalan had prepared a seven- or eight-article outline for a root law which had been shared with state representatives, and that although her party had been briefed on its broad content, no concrete text had reached them and no general agreement had yet been achieved; a law that failed to meet expectations, she warned, would not help the process, since it should accelerate disarmament and strengthen the political and legal ground. Noting that the legislation was said to be coming in July, she said such promises had been made repeatedly before, that parliament was close to rising, and that if the government had a draft it should share it that week, adding that parliament should not close before the law was passed. She said DEM opposed from the outset any categorisation of people and any approach evoking effective remorse or repentance, since people wanted a genuinely fresh start in politics and an effective remorse law already existed in Türkiye; Öcalan, she said, had made clear at İmralı that such an approach would not be accepted. Her party’s own draft, which it might share publicly depending on developments, would contain no categories, she said, invoking a phrase often used by parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmuş about the dignity and honour of both Turks and Kurds, and describing an inclusive root law resting on democratic ground, along with work prepared on Öcalan’s “right to hope”. Asked whether the organisation’s leaders would fall within the regulation’s scope, she said the government’s thinking was unclear, with hints that only a few hundred people who had received armed training but taken part in no actions might be covered — which would make the law’s scope very narrow — and that reducing the debate to categorising people would squander the process. She said DEM would present its proposals when the time came, including possible transitional mechanisms under which those laying down arms might stay at certain centres for a period, though she did not call this an “adjustment process”. On disarmament itself, she said technical details did not reach her party, but that the PKK had stated it would wage no armed struggle in Türkiye after dissolving itself, describing this as strategic rather than tactical. On the delay in the İmralı talks, she said there was no clear information but she suspected a dialogue on the law was under way in the background, and that Öcalan wanted to meet not only the İmralı Delegation but also press organisations, journalists, jurists and politicians. Turning to the CHP, she said the operations against it were among the greatest obstacles to embedding peace in society, that they had extended beyond detentions and arrests to interventions in the party’s internal workings through the absolute-nullity dispute, and that the CHP’s full support was extremely important in such a process. She contrasted the AKP’s failure to prepare its base with the MHP’s efforts under Devlet Bahçeli and with the “Wise People” committee of the 2013-2015 process, while praising the CHP’s positive stance and its participation in the parliamentary commission. On a possible early election and a presidential candidacy, she said the matter had not yet been discussed and would be assessed according to developments at the time, with her party’s congress still ahead. Asked whether the hardest phase of the process was over, she said she was not so sure, since no legal regulation had yet been passed, and that they had reached the point of wanting to see it enacted before feeling confident.

Poll: 40 per cent of MHP voters do not approve of Erdoğan’s performance in office

According to MetroPOLL Research’s June 2026 survey, the proportion of people approving of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s performance in office stood at 44.5 per cent, with 51 per cent disapproving, while 40 per cent of those who voted for the MHP in the 2023 elections said they did not approve of the way he was carrying out his duties, and CHP leader Özgür Özel’s job approval was measured at 50.7 per cent. In the “Pulse of Türkiye June 2026” survey, reported by Halk TV, respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Erdoğan was performing his presidential duties, with 44.5 per cent approving and 51 per cent disapproving nationwide. Among voters who said they had backed the AKP in the parliamentary election of 14 May 2023, 81.1 per cent approved of his performance, while among MHP voters the figure was 60 per cent, with the remaining 40 per cent disapproving. Disapproval rates were higher among opposition voters: 83.4 per cent of CHP voters, 88.8 per cent of İYİ Party voters and 66.7 per cent of HDP/Green Left Party voters said they did not approve of Erdoğan’s performance. The survey also measured Özel’s performance as leader of the main opposition, with 50.7 per cent of respondents saying they approved and 43.1 per cent saying they did not; 83.8 per cent of CHP voters approved of his performance, as did 29.5 per cent of AKP voters, 32.3 per cent of MHP voters, 76.7 per cent of İYİ Party voters and 65.5 per cent of HDP/Green Left Party voters.

Şirvan mayor Necat Cellek dies

Necat Cellek, mayor of the Şirvan district of Siirt, has died at the hospital in Istanbul where he was receiving treatment. Cellek had been treated in Istanbul for some time for long-standing health problems. His death has plunged those close to him into mourning; during his time in office he had won the appreciation of residents for the services he brought to the district and the work he carried out. Cellek, who was elected mayor as an AK Party candidate, will be laid to rest in the Şirvan district.

EU funds flow to foundations close to the government: Ensar, TÜGVA and Hayrat among recipients

Foundations and associations regarded as close to the government received a total of €197,895 in European Union funds in the first half of 2026, among them the Ensar Foundation, TÜGVA and the Hayrat Foundation, known for its links to the Nur religious community. According to a report in BirGün, numerous new foundations and associations have begun operating during the AKP’s time in power, many of them granted tax-exempt status, with bodies such as TÜRGEV, TÜGVA and Ensar widely regarded as structures close to the government; criticism has been raised over the substantial public resources channelled to them, and it has been alleged that some municipalities transferred large sums from their budgets to these foundations. After the changes of administration at the local elections of 31 March 2019, foundations that had received tens of millions of lira from municipal budgets turned instead to EU funds, and the grants that seven such foundations secured from the Turkish National Agency (TUA) between January and June 2026 approached €200,000. The recipients included the Ensar Foundation, the Önder İmam Hatip Graduates’ Association, Kartal İmam Hatip High School, the Genç Hayrat Association, the Öncü Gençlik Association, the Diyanet Foundation and TÜGVA. Ensar was awarded a grant of €37,106 in March 2026 for a project on returning to nature, while TÜGVA was approved for funding of up to €14,490 for a project called “Rise Towards Hope”. The most striking name on the list was the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation — which receives billions of lira in donation income almost every year — whose “Growing Together” project was awarded €14,490 in EU grants. The Önder association received €34,392 and its affiliated youth association €35,810, while Kartal İmam Hatip High School was awarded €35,777 and the Hayrat Foundation, part of the Yazıcılar branch of the Nur community, €25,830.

İmralı Secretariat’s Atabey: the war lobby is determined to keep the Kurds inside the war

Ergin Atabey of the İmralı Secretariat has written a piece from İmralı for the newspaper Yeni Yaşam, in which he argues that the “war lobby” is insistent on keeping the Kurds inside the war, while stressing that “the equation of the table matters” and that avoiding becoming bait within it is the other side of the task. Atabey writes that the issue is not one of trust or mistrust: he argues that what he calls the abnormal or war lobby has constructed a game confining the question to an equation of trusting or not trusting, accepting or rejecting, and that remaining within it means being trapped on their playing field in a vicious cycle, as he says has been the case for the past 30 years — with Öcalan, whom he calls Rêber Apo, having broken that equation. He describes this as a historic rupture and manoeuvre, pulling the matter out of the “abnormal” equation and into a struggle within the equation of the table, in which the relationship and contradiction with the state is moved from a traumatic and paradoxical plane to one of ideological-political struggle, and where the struggle for and construction of a democratic society and nation will continue with free will. Atabey writes that great games are being played over the Kurds, aimed at the total collapse of the Kurds by a denialist mindset, and that the table does not mean everything is resolved: even if a democratic republic and democratic integration emerge, the relationship and contradiction between the commune and the state will persist. The essence of the current move, he argues, is to carry the struggle inside the state — a form of struggle socialists have neglected, since the state has been treated as a homogeneous, single entity and the struggle has always been waged outside it. Social reality, he writes, is reflected in the state and creates clusters within it, and failing to see this and to carry the struggle inside amounts to falling into the war lobby’s trap; the lobby, he says, claims to be the true owner of the state and escalates war on that basis, doing everything it can, including provoking the Kurds through psychological warfare, so that saying “it isn’t working” in response to such provocation is to fall into the trap. He concludes that the plane of relationship and contradiction with the state at the table is a great opportunity, not granted by anyone but won through half a century of resistance, and that those who bore its cost cannot afford not to understand it; avoiding becoming bait requires understanding the commune-state relationship and developing creative politics, grasping the dialectical wholeness of relationship, contradiction and struggle rather than focusing on only one of the three.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Crowd crush danger at Özgür Özel’s Niğde event

Members of the public were at risk of being crushed at an event held by CHP group chairman Özgür Özel in Niğde. Özel addressed party supporters at Niğde’s Yeni Çarşı, where the temperature of around 35C and the narrowness of the site left those present in difficulty. In an area where people struggled to move, women and children in particular were in danger of being crushed. Journalists covering the event also had trouble protecting their equipment, and teams attended to people who fell ill at the site.

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Meanwhile, I am heading to Istanbul to enjoy the lovely weather and spend some time with friends. I have missed my old neighbourhood, Cihangir, catching up over coffee with friends, wandering streets full of memories, and reconnecting with the people I have always enjoyed spending time with.

See you after next week!

75-year-old Ayten Yakut, arrested ahead of NATO Summit, released

Ayten Yakut, a 75-year-old retired teacher and TEMA volunteer who was among 178 people arrested ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, has been released with a ban on leaving the country following an appeal. In operations carried out as part of an investigation by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ahead of the summit, a total of 225 people had been detained and 178 of them arrested. Yakut’s lawyers lodged an appeal with the 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace, and she was released as a result. The judgeship’s decision stated that, taking together the current state of the evidence, the suspect’s age and health and the scope of the file, it had concluded that the benefit expected from arrest could be achieved through a judicial control measure. It was ruled that Yakut be released with a ban on travelling abroad imposed.

Unexpected development in the judiciary: the presiding judge in the İBB case has been reassigned

The Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) has made extensive changes to the assignments of judges at the Heavy Penal and Commercial Courts in Istanbul, with Selçuk Aylan, President of the Istanbul 40th Heavy Penal Court, which was hearing the İBB (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) case, appointed to the presidency of the 1st Panel of the 33rd Heavy Penal Court. According to a report on SON TV, the change came through a decree issued by the First Chamber of the HSK, which reassigned numerous presidents of heavy penal and commercial courts serving in Istanbul. Aylan’s tenure had been the subject of debate since the first day of the trial; he had been appointed president of the 1st Panel of the 40th Heavy Penal Court, with two further members added to the panel before the hearing to form the three-member bench that would hear the İBB case. With the latest decision, the 40th Heavy Penal Court where the case was being heard was closed, and its 1st and 2nd panels were assigned to the 33rd Heavy Penal Court, where the İBB case will continue to be heard. The decree also brought changes to the commercial courts: 1st Commercial Court President Özlem Aktaş was appointed to head the 23rd Commercial Court, 6th Commercial Court President Semra Tekin Doğan was brought in to head the 1st Commercial Court, and 22nd Commercial Court President Fatma Banu Polat was appointed to head the 17th Commercial Court, while Nimet Gündoğdu, Günseli Özçelik Yıldız and Harun Serdar Akyel were assigned to head the 24th, 23rd and 15th Heavy Penal Courts respectively.

Cumhuriyet reporter Gülnur Saydam, detained over “Are there gangs in Göktürk?” story, released: I stand behind my report

Cumhuriyet newspaper reporter Gülnur Saydam has been released after being detained in Istanbul over a story headlined “Is Istanbul’s popular Göktürk district the new address of the gangs?”, saying she stands behind her report and will continue doing journalism to make the public’s voice heard. According to Cumhuriyet, Saydam was detained and taken to Vatan Police Headquarters following the report, which described residents struggling to live amid attacks and asked whether organised crime had spread to the Göktürk area. Cumhuriyet News Editor Can Uğur said in a social media post that their reporter had been detained over the story that had drawn attention, adding that Cumhuriyet would continue to write the truth. In a statement on her social media account in the early hours, Saydam announced her release, saying that she would have gone herself had she been called, but was instead taken unlawfully from her home to Vatan Police Headquarters on the instruction of the prosecutor, and released after roughly four hours of giving a statement. She thanked the Cumhuriyet family who waited for hours outside the police headquarters, her colleagues in various outlets and everyone who called, messaged and supported her, adding that she stood behind her report and would be back at work the next morning.

Türkiye’s internet report is out: what do we spend most on?

The preferences of internet users in Türkiye for the first quarter of the year have been revealed, showing that YouTube accounted for 40.6 per cent of internet traffic, while Instagram led in messaging, PlayStation in online gaming and WhatsApp in internet-based voice calls. According to data compiled from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority’s (BTK) quarterly market report for the electronic communications sector, users spent much of their time online on social media applications, with the largest share going to video content. In total internet traffic for the first quarter, YouTube came first by a clear margin at 40.6 per cent, followed by Instagram at 16 per cent, and in streaming-based applications YouTube again led with 57.4 per cent, ahead of Instagram at 17.4 per cent, TikTok at 5.6 per cent and Netflix at 5.5 per cent. In instant messaging, Instagram was the most widely used at 58.5 per cent, with Facebook second at 26.4 per cent, WhatsApp third at 7.3 per cent and Telegram fourth at 6.2 per cent, indicating that users are turning to social-media-based applications for messaging while traditional messaging services see more limited use. In online gaming, PlayStation was the most widely used platform at 25.4 per cent, followed by Steam at 24.1 per cent, PUBG at 9.2 per cent and League of Legends at 6.7 per cent, while in internet-based voice calls (VOIP) WhatsApp led by a wide margin, making up 61.2 per cent of total usage traffic.

🏛️ Politics

Erdoğan reportedly says “framework law” will pass before Parliament’s recess

It has been leaked that at the AKP’s weekend camp in Sapanca, President Erdoğan gave instructions for the “framework law” — said to establish the legal basis for the resolution process — to be passed “directly” before the Grand National Assembly’s summer recess, which is due to begin on 16 July. According to BBC Turkish, an unnamed MP who attended the camp, relaying the assessments made there, said the President had not merely said the law would “pass and be submitted before Parliament closes” but had given the instruction that it be passed directly, and that the camp had also reached agreement on a new enforcement law covering all convicts. Despite this, the report notes there is no legislative procedure called “passing a law directly” in the TBMM’s rules of procedure, under which a bill is submitted to the Speaker’s office, discussed in the relevant committee or committees, voted on article by article and as a whole in the General Assembly, sent to the President if accepted, and enters into force on publication in the Official Gazette — unless the President exercises the power to send it back. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the General Assembly adopted the AKP group’s proposal on Parliament’s working calendar and agenda, with the opposition arguing it was contrary to the rules of procedure and the AKP maintaining it had been prepared within them; under the adopted proposal the assembly will continue working until certain numbered bills are completed on 1, 2 and 14 July, and until further items are finished on 16 July. Although the “framework law” does not appear in this calendar, the report says the AKP group believes the way remains open to bypass the waiting periods in the rules of procedure and to alter the order of business over the coming fortnight or, by a new decision, the date of Parliament’s closure. The proposal also provided for one numbered bill to be discussed as a “basic law” under article 91, with party group speeches on the bill as a whole limited to at most two speakers each. Opposition figures objected: Yeni Yol Group Deputy Chair Bülent Kaya raised a procedural objection, saying no reason had been given for placing the bill on the agenda before the 48-hour waiting period expired and that it did not qualify as a “basic law”, a method he said restricted the opposition’s right to speak; DEM Party Batman MP Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki argued the AKP had for years had all manner of bills discussed as basic laws, harming the quality of legislation; while AKP Bilecik MP Halil Eldemir said that where no agreement is reached in the Advisory Committee, the order of debate can be set through group proposals under article 19. The AKP group’s proposal was adopted after the discussions.

“Economy package” and “student amnesty” bills heading to Parliament

The AKP is preparing to submit two bills to the Grand National Assembly before it enters its recess at the end of this month: a new “economy package” that includes raising the lowest pension and support for the tourism and cinema sectors, and a “student amnesty” allowing those expelled from universities to return to their education. According to the draft of the new “fiscal omnibus” bill, expected to comprise 25-30 articles and mainly concerning the economy, measures will be introduced to support the cinema sector, whose audiences have shrunk with the spread of digital platforms, along with various forms of support for the tourism sector affected by the regional war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran — a matter on which Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan, together with screenwriter and director Birol Güven, visited the AKP group chair at Parliament. The omnibus package will also include a regulation on raising the lowest pensions, with attention turning to the June inflation figure that TÜİK will announce on 3 July, which will also reveal inflation for the first half of the year; a legal change is required for the increase to the lowest pension, currently 20,000 lira, and the higher of the rates applied to the two pensioner groups is planned to be taken as the basis, though it is not yet clear whether a “welfare share” increase will be added. The package will also contain articles on highways, state airports and civil aviation, and provisions on administrative fines due to take effect in the autumn. The AKP is additionally working on exempting dual citizens who have done military service in their country of residence from service in Türkiye, with officials saying there is demand and the matter is being studied, and that any such regulation could be added by motion to the armed forces bill currently before the General Assembly or included in the omnibus bill. Separately, the long-awaited “student amnesty” bill, envisaging changes to the Higher Education Law in around 30 articles, has reached the submission stage and contains provisions allowing those expelled from universities after 2022 — when the last such law was passed — to return, including final-year students dismissed for failing to graduate within the legal period. The AKP plans to submit both bills to the Speaker’s office on Friday so that the legal period for committee discussion is completed and debate can begin after next week’s NATO Summit, during which Parliament will not sit.

Minister Fidan: corridors and connecting routes are becoming ever more important

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expansionist policy is one supporting chaos, instability, war, tears, destruction and genocide in the region, adding that corridors and connecting routes are becoming ever more important. Speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara after the seventh meeting of the Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan Joint Strategic Planning Group, co-chaired with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ceenbek Kulubayev, Fidan congratulated Kyrgyzstan on its election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2027-2028, calling it a historic success and describing the country’s diplomatic achievements, and Türkiye’s contribution to them, as one of the most concrete examples of solidarity between the two brotherly nations. He said cooperation between the two countries was strengthening steadily, noted that a cooperation programme for 2027-2028 had been signed between the two foreign ministries, and recalled that Presidents Erdoğan and Sadyr Japarov had set a bilateral trade volume target of $5bn, towards which they were working, pointing out that there are 350 Turkish firms in Kyrgyzstan and the number continues to grow. Saying connectivity, financing and investment had also been discussed, Fidan argued that the recent Iran episode had shown that connectivity, cargo transport and the transmission of goods were matters of real strategic importance, and described the Organisation of Turkic States as the embodiment of the Turkic world’s common will, adding that this year’s summit would be held in Ankara, hosted by Erdoğan. On global and regional matters, he said efforts to lift what he called the unjust isolation of the Turkish Cypriots had been addressed, along with Ukraine — where the two countries wanted the war to stop as soon as possible and comprehensive peace talks to begin — and expressed shared satisfaction over the agreement reached with the United States on Iran, noting that Iran’s policies closely concern the Turkic states given its border with Central Asia. Fidan said the Palestinian question, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria had each been taken up, that Türkiye was discussing with all its international counterparts what the international community could do and what measures and action plan could be put forward to stop Netanyahu’s policy, and stressed that Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye stood in the same place on all issues, which he called a requirement of their brotherhood, adding that the meeting also laid the groundwork for the next High-Level Strategic Council Meeting.

Şimşek says “preparatory work can be carried out” for motorways: a sign of privatisation

As the government piles increases onto bridge and motorway tolls, it has also signalled privatisation, with Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek stating that preparatory work can be carried out under privatisation or similar methods to improve motorways and raise their capacity and service quality. Claims that the İzmir Ring Road would be privatised were brought to Parliament’s agenda by DEM Party İzmir MP İbrahim Akın, who asked Şimşek whether his ministry had any knowledge, approval or financial analysis relating to the transfer of the road’s operating rights to the private sector. In his reply, Şimşek said there was no decision or work under way to change the current operating structure of the ring roads, which are operated by the General Directorate of Highways (KGM) and provided free of charge. He noted, however, that the Privatisation Administration (ÖİB) and the KGM could carry out preparatory work under privatisation or similar methods aimed at improving motorways, increasing capacity and service quality and creating a sustainable operating model, adding that routine preparatory work for the privatisation of assets included in the privatisation programme is carried out continuously by the ÖİB.

MİT chief Kalın meets PUK leader Talabani in Sulaymaniyah

The head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation (MİT), İbrahim Kalın, has met the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Bafel Talabani, in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah. According to a written statement from the PUK, the meeting in Sulaymaniyah’s Dabashan area took up recent developments in the region and emphasised the importance of preserving regional stability, while the two sides also assessed the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process, with Talabani reiterating the PUK’s support for its success. According to the statement, Talabani said that, continuing the line of President “Mam Celal”, they were pressing on with their work for the success of this important and historic step, with the aim of consolidating coexistence and reaching a comprehensive peace that would contribute to security and stability across the Middle East, and both sides stressed the importance of developing bilateral relations within the framework of protecting common interests. Turkish security sources said Kalın had also met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi in Baghdad the previous day to discuss cooperation between the two countries, and he had previously met Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani in Erbil to discuss recent developments and current security and stability issues. Kalın also visited the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, inspecting the historic Kirkuk Castle, calling at the Iraqi Turkmen Front headquarters to meet Turkmen officials and holding talks with Kirkuk Governor Muhammed Seman Ağa. As part of an intensive round of meetings in Baghdad on 30 June, Kalın met a wide range of Iraqi figures including the Iraqi President, the Speaker of Parliament, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, the National Security Adviser, the Foreign Minister and several political leaders, with the talks addressing the strengthening of security and intelligence cooperation between Türkiye and Iraq.

From the okey table to the business carriage

Selahattin Baykara — photographed at an okey table with the then TCDD regional director in 2021 and known for the tenders he has won from the institution — has landed another contract, with the work of supplying refreshments in the business carriages of high-speed trains and operating the cafeteria carriages awarded to his company for 55.8m lira. According to BirGün, Turkish State Railways (TCDD) held a tender for the supply of refreshment packages to be given to passengers in the business carriages and the operation of the cafeteria carriages, and the tender held on 11 June 2026 used the “Negotiation 21/B” method, which has been criticised on the grounds that it is used as a means of awarding public tenders to whomever is desired. The TCDD General Directorate produced an approximate cost estimate of 60m lira for the work, with the highest bid submitted at 58.2m lira and the lowest at 55.8m lira, and on 19 June the tender commission gave its final decision, awarding the contract to the lowest bidder, Aykar İnsan Kaynakları Temizlik İnşaat Hayvancılık Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi, for a service period of five months at a contract value of 55.8m lira. The owner of the company that won the tender was found to be Selahattin Baykara, who came to attention through a controversial photograph in 2021 and who has won at least 17 tenders from the TCDD 3rd Regional Directorate, having been pictured that year with the then TCDD 3rd Regional Director Ergün Yurtçu.

Shelter capacity 13,000, animals collected 52,000: what happened to the rest?

Questions have been raised over the fate of Ankara’s stray animals after the city’s governor announced that 52,000 had been collected, far exceeding a shelter capacity that a former governor put at 13,045. The change to the Animal Protection Law came into force after passing through Parliament in 2024, and with it stray animals began to be collected; the government, which placed the obligation on municipalities, gave local authorities until 2028 to bring shelter conditions up to a standard fit for animals to live in, yet, according to the report, it did not keep even its own word, with some bureaucrats pressuring municipalities to resolve the matter quickly, and the work not clearly completed for lack of sufficient time. Ankara Governor Yakup Canbolat announced on social media that the number of strays collected in the capital had reached 52,000, a figure that drew public debate, since former Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin had said in May last year that there were around 52,000 strays in Ankara but a total shelter capacity of just 13,045 — implying that all the city’s strays had been collected and prompting curiosity about those exceeding capacity. Tülay Danacıoğlu, head of a nature, human and animal protection federation, told Cumhuriyet that the data was unrealistic, saying there was no way a shelter capacity of 13,000 had been raised to 52,000 this year, that adding up all the districts’ capacities would not reach half of 52,000, and asking where the animals were. She argued that current shelter conditions were fit neither for the dogs already there nor for those being brought in, questioned whom the hurried collection served when there was time until 2028, and objected that the authorities had fixated on voiceless animals instead of tackling problems such as violence reaching primary-school age and rising rates of femicide, asking whether collecting animals would produce a safe society.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

Election scenario in AKP corridors: the target is the ballot box in May 2027

Corridor talk in the AKP has it that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is preparing the party for a comprehensive process of change, with his goal, according to party sources, being to reshape both the party management and the government ahead of an early election that could be held in May 2027. According to this account, reported by Cumhuriyet’s Merve Kılıç, a succession of recent opinion polls and field reports has revived the need for wide-ranging change, with Erdoğan said not to want to enter the election process with the current cadres, and his road map consisting of four stages: first a revision in the organisations, then a cabinet reshuffle in the autumn, then a reshaping of the party management through an extraordinary congress, and finally entry into the election process alongside economic measures. The first target is said to be the provincial and district organisations, particularly those judged to have underperformed since the local elections, amid assessments that the bond with voters has weakened and the aim of a structure that will reinvigorate the base before the election. On the cabinet, party sources say a limited but notable reshuffle is expected in the autumn, with four or five ministers possibly removed and replaced, intended to give fresh momentum to economic management and to some ministries seen as worn down in public opinion. The biggest change is said to be reserved for the extraordinary congress, with Erdoğan reportedly displeased with the headquarters management and especially critical of the deputy chairs, whom assessments within the party accuse of failing to carry out the fieldwork needed to win back voters and of being cut off from society; Erdoğan is claimed to have said of some aides that they “do politics only through social media” and are “not in the field”, and a large proportion of the deputy chairs, along with the Central Decision and Executive Board, are expected to be replaced. Economic matters are also described as an important pillar of the election preparations, with regulations on pensions, the minimum wage and social support expected after January, possibly prepared as a package to boost voters’ purchasing power. The common aim of all these preparations is said to be to enter a possible May election with a strong team and a renewed party structure.

AKP MP sold the state 250,000 doses of meningitis vaccine

It has emerged that AKP MP Cantürk Alagöz — who came to public attention over environmental destruction in Giresun — has sold the state 250,000 doses of meningitis vaccine, with 4.1m dollars to be paid from the public purse to his company. According to BirGün, the General Directorate of the State Supply Office (DMO) purchased “250,000 doses of conjugate meningitis vaccine” on 15 May 2026, with the vaccines bought from Keymen İlaç, owned by AKP Iğdır MP Alagöz, and 4.1m dollars to be paid to his firm from state funds. Alagöz, who has previously sold the state tetanus, rabies, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, measles and chickenpox vaccines and whose name was linked to alleged irregularities in the procurement of vaccines from China during the Covid-19 pandemic, had been protested over an environmental disaster in Giresun, where his Alagöz Mining Company is said to be causing destruction in the Harşit Valley. In the Çatalağaç village of the Doğankent district, home to around 500 people, his “lead, zinc and copper” mine, waste storage and crushing-screening facility is expanding by the day. Most recently a citizen complained to the Presidential Communications Centre (CİMER) about a second illegal chemical waste pool built by Alagöz Mining; in a response dated 3 November 2025 the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change said the company had been fined and given one year, though the ministry had earlier determined, from samples taken on 18 April 2024, that the stream was polluted and imposed a fine of 464,585 lira, and the previous year had fined Alagöz Mining just 54,783 lira for polluting the stream, reportedly on the grounds of “contaminating the stream with excavation, soil and construction material”. The then Giresun Governor Fatih Serdengeçti had visited the mine, repeatedly documented as polluting the environment and waters, on 28 January.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

CHP’s Günaydın: all appeals should be withdrawn and a congress process planned

CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın has said the party must be extricated from its current disputes as soon as possible, and that the only way to do so is to withdraw all appeals and plan a swift congress process. His statement follows an announcement by Müslim Sarı, spokesman for the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu leadership installed as CHP chair by the appeal court’s “absolute nullity” ruling, that the party’s Central Executive Board (MYK) had decided to remove 26 provincial chairs. In a post on his social media account, Günaydın said that, alongside earlier dismissals, removing 26 provincial chairs elected at provincial congresses by a single decision was diametrically opposed to democratic principles and traditions and unacceptable, and that spreading the dispute begun at CHP headquarters to the provinces and districts served no purpose other than Türkiye’s complete transformation from an electoral democracy into an authoritarian regime. Arguing this was not an internal party matter but one whose effects would undoubtedly shape Türkiye’s future, he said the only way out was to withdraw all appeals and plan a rapid congress, warning that failure to do so would mean losing the future with the image of a party mired in constant disputes. He stressed that the responsibility was owed not only to the party but to the country, concluding that if the matter is the homeland, the rest is detail, and that “either we will find a way, or we will make one”.

Lawyer Beliz Özkan responds to Murat Ongun’s claim that she “asked for $1m”

Lawyer Beliz Özkan has rejected as slander a claim by Murat Ongun that she asked him for $1m, saying that neither money nor his wife’s release was raised in any way during their meeting. Ongun, the Media Inc. board chair being tried in custody in the İBB case, had said in his defence at the hearing that Özkan came to Çorlu Prison and told him his wife would not be arrested if he paid $1m, and that he had complained about her to the bar association. In a message on her social media account, Özkan said the visit Ongun referred to at the İBB hearing of 30 June took place on 27 April 2025, when she went to convey her good wishes, and consisted only of a short, courteous conversation about the political climate and mutual acquaintances, ending with a handshake — as she said would be confirmed by the camera records of Çorlu High Security Prison. She said that about a year later, when Ongun complained about her with baseless statements, she had made the necessary detailed explanation to the Istanbul Bar Association, that his statements were pure slander, and that she had no attorney relationship with the Cüneyt Yakut named in his defence, nor any phone call or meeting with him, expressing no hesitation about her single, long-used phone line’s records being examined and shared publicly. Saying she was ready to present her account records and assets, which she said would show she had never been part of any such bargain, Özkan noted she had acted as victims’ counsel in many politically driven cases and had not softened her opposition stance, pointing to her heavy criticism of the İBB investigation and the Istanbul prosecutor’s operations. She added that Ongun was not the only person she had visited — she had visited many people held in custody in the İBB case to convey her good wishes — and that around the time of the visit she had personally attended the Saraçhane rallies and given legal support to young people later arrested, concluding that she had always stood against lawlessness and would continue to do so, using all her legal rights on the matter.

İYİ Party’s Çömez: 181m lira spent on NATO panels

İYİ Party Balıkesir MP Turhan Çömez has said that 181m lira was spent on the NATO-logo panels placed along motorways ahead of the summit to be held in Ankara on 7-8 July. Speaking in front of the panels, Çömez released a video in which a dilapidated, partly burnt building could be seen behind them. Saying the panels had been placed so that the leaders coming to Ankara for the NATO Summit would not see the unfavourable view, Çömez said 181m lira had been spent on them and that they were being used to bring some things to the fore while covering and blacking out others. He asked what really lay behind the panels, answering that it was poverty, ruin, hunger and destitution, and argued that the “Erdoğan regime”, the “one-man regime”, had paid a further 181m lira to hide all this, putting up the panels at the cost of closing roads and obstructing people, which he called “exactly the AKP mindset”.

Court orders Turhan Çömez to pay damages over “profiteering” claims against Minister Ersoy

A court has ordered İYİ Party Balıkesir MP Turhan Çömez to pay 50,000 lira in non-pecuniary damages over his claims that forest land was allocated to a company belonging to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy in order to generate “profiteering”, while the Sözcü newspaper, which published the same claims, was also sentenced to pay 50,000 lira. The ruling came in a non-pecuniary damages case brought by Ersoy against Çömez on the grounds that his personal rights had been violated, with the Istanbul 33rd Civil Court of First Instance ordering the payment over claims Çömez made about the minister in a video published on YouTube in 2025. In the video at issue, Çömez had alleged that forest land in the Kissebükü area of Bodrum was allocated to Ersoy’s company, that profiteering had been created in the area and that public resources had been used for this purpose, while Ersoy applied to the courts arguing the statements violated his personal rights. In the case brought over the same claims being published in the Sözcü newspaper, the Istanbul 15th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that the paper’s author, board chair and responsible company should likewise pay 50,000 lira in non-pecuniary damages.

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⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye

39 detained in ISIS operation in Istanbul

Thirty-nine people have been detained in simultaneous raids on 43 addresses in Istanbul as part of an investigation into ISIS, with the suspects accused of collecting money under the names of fitre, zakat and infak from people aiding the organisation through lessons and talks held in illegal associations and prayer rooms. The work to expose the group’s activities was carried out by counter-terrorism and intelligence units of the Istanbul Police Department, coordinated by the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators determined that a man named Orhan Küçük, using the code name “taxi driver Muhammed”, acted as a so-called leader to pro-organisation individuals, organising lessons and talks at an illegal association and prayer room of their own and collecting money from sympathisers, while members were found to have made radical statements on religious matters and conducted outreach to build support for the illegal prayer room, claiming that the state was not governed according to Islamic rulings, that God’s commands were not applied and that those in power were in idolatry. After the prosecutor’s office issued detention orders for 42 suspects, the raids were carried out on 43 addresses, two of them the prayer rooms in question, and 39 suspects were detained, with searches turning up an unlicensed pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, two cutting and piercing knives, a drone and a large quantity of digital material.

Investigation and “preliminary inquiry” authorised against three mayors over “stray animals”

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has authorised an investigation into the mayors of AKP-run Narman and CHP-run Köyceğiz over the “stray dogs” file, while launching a “preliminary inquiry” into the DEM Party mayor of Hilvan on the grounds that no animal shelter had been built. The Interior Ministry announced that examinations were continuing into incidents threatening citizens’ safety and into claims about the application of the relevant legislation. According to the ministry, inspections found that the animal care home belonging to Köyceğiz Municipality was inadequate in terms of capacity and operating permits, that work to collect stray animals was not carried out effectively and that veterinary services were not provided in line with the rules, while Narman Municipality was judged to have failed to collect stray animals in its area for a long time, with a dog attack occurring as a result of that neglect. On this basis, investigation authorisation was granted for Köyceğiz Mayor Ali Erdoğan and Narman Mayor Aydemir Adem Kınalı, both deemed to have failed to carry out their duties in accordance with the legislation. In the Hilvan district of Şanlıurfa, a preliminary inquiry was authorised into Mayor Serhan Paydaş over claims that the municipality had not met its obligations to establish an animal care home under the Animal Protection Law No. 5199, had not set aside the necessary funds and had taken no action towards building one. The ministry said work was continuing to protect citizens’ safety and ensure that public officials fulfil their responsibilities.

Van Bar Association withdraws from Rojin Kabaiş case

The Van Bar Association has announced that it is withdrawing from the investigation into the death of university student Rojin Kabaiş, who died in suspicious circumstances, saying it had concluded that the difficulties of the case had made it harder to maintain sound communication and coordination with her father. Kabaiş, a first-year student in the Child Development department of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University’s Education Faculty, disappeared after leaving her dormitory on 27 September 2024, and her body was found on the shore of the Mollakasım neighbourhood on 15 October 2024. In a statement on social media, the bar association said that at the present stage it judged that the hardship of the justice struggle waged by the deceased’s father, Nizamettin Kabaiş, who is a complainant in the file, together with the deep psychological strain caused by the unexplained suspicious death, had made it difficult to sustain healthy communication and coordination with him over following the case. Saying it viewed the difficult process the father was going through with understanding, the association stated that its case-tracking team and the lawyers authorised by special power of attorney had decided to withdraw so that the file would not suffer any loss of rights and the process could be conducted more soundly, stressing this did not mean any step back from its sensitivity about uncovering the truth or its determination that those responsible be held to account, which it said it would continue to follow on the public’s behalf. The withdrawal follows recent remarks by the father, who had accused the bar association of being indifferent to the file, saying that nearly two years on he had been investigating by his own means, and that he had asked the bar to examine footage from a rotating camera in the area covering where his daughter’s phone was left and much of the village, but that they had shown no interest.

NATO measures spill beyond Ankara: protest ban in three more provinces

Security measures taken across Ankara for the 36th NATO Summit, which include a ban on demonstrations and protests, are spreading beyond the capital, with the provincial governorates of Karabük, Mersin and Eskişehir following Ankara in announcing bans. According to the report, the summit is to be held in Ankara on 7-8 July, and Karabük’s governorate, in a decision dated 26 June, banned all actions and events aimed at protesting the summit across the province, with the ban set to run from the morning of 1 July until midnight on 10 July. The governorates of Eskişehir and Mersin took similar decisions, prohibiting all demonstrations and events between 2 and 10 July in Mersin and between 1 and 10 July in Eskişehir. The measures are said not to be limited to these provinces, with some other governorates reported to be considering similar steps, and various security arrangements had previously been brought in across Ankara for the duration of the summit, with restrictions on movement increased citywide.

Investigation launched into Deniz Göktaş

An investigation has been launched into stand-up comedian Deniz Göktaş over claims that the videos he posted on social media contain elements of a criminal offence. Following his latest show, “Ölü Deniz”, which has been viewed close to six million times on his own YouTube account, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened the investigation on the grounds that the video contained criminal elements. Confirming the inquiry, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement that an investigation had been launched into the suspect Deniz Göktaş, in whose content published on certain social media platforms expressions deemed to constitute elements of a criminal offence had been identified.

Fire in İzmir’s Dikili brought under control

A fire that broke out in an agricultural area in the Dikili district of İzmir and spread to woodland has been brought under control. The blaze, which started for an as-yet-undetermined reason in farmland near the Çandarlı neighbourhood and spread to the forest under the effect of the wind, was tackled by fire crews along with seven aircraft, eight helicopters, 35 water tankers and four bulldozers belonging to the İzmir Regional Directorate of Forestry. It was brought under control following intensive efforts carried out by the teams from the air and on the ground.

Meteorology warns: scorching heat to grip the whole country

The Turkish State Meteorological Service has announced that no rain is expected across the country, with temperatures forecast to remain above seasonal norms, while a strong-wind warning has been issued for the south-west of Marmara and the northern Aegean coasts. According to the service’s latest forecasts, the weather will be partly cloudy to clear nationwide and temperatures will stay above seasonal averages, with the heat felt in many regions. Temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees in south-eastern Anatolia, 36-38 degrees in the Aegean and Mediterranean, and between 32 and 36 degrees in Marmara, with 33 degrees forecast for the capital Ankara, 32 for Istanbul and 36 for İzmir. Winds are generally expected to blow lightly, at times moderately, from northerly and north-easterly directions, though strong winds of 30 to 50 kilometres per hour are forecast for the south-west of Marmara and the northern Aegean coasts, where the service urged people to be careful and take precautions. Given the absence of rain and the above-average temperatures, the elderly, those with chronic illnesses and children are advised not to remain in the sun for long periods, especially during the hottest hours of the day, to drink plenty of fluids and to take the necessary precautions.

🏛️ Politics

Erdoğan: barriers to defence trade must be lifted

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said NATO must preserve its deterrence at a time of growing global uncertainty, calling for barriers to defence trade to be removed and for solidarity among allies to be strengthened. Speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Summit held at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace, Erdoğan said the meeting was an important preparatory stage ahead of the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on 7-8 July, and noted that Türkiye, with its strong army, advanced defence industry and geostrategic position, had contributed significantly to NATO’s security for more than 70 years, adding that the Ankara summit would yield important results for sharing experience and developing defence-industry cooperation. Emphasising that burden-sharing among allies should be carried out in a balanced and fair manner, he called for restrictions on defence-industry trade to be lifted, and, recalling that Türkiye was among the top five allies contributing most to NATO missions and operations, said its contribution to European security was nonetheless sometimes overlooked; Türkiye should be included in the EU’s defence and security initiatives, he argued, saying that excluding the country’s defence capacity for narrow political interests benefited no one. Turning to the Middle East, Erdoğan said Türkiye supported turning the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran into a lasting solution and was closely following attacks aimed at breaking the agreement, and, drawing attention to attacks on Lebanon, stressed that the Palestinian question lay at the root of the region’s tensions, with lasting peace possible only through the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. On the Russia-Ukraine war, he said it should be ended through diplomacy, noting that Türkiye, as a trusted country able to engage in dialogue with both sides, would continue to contribute actively to peace efforts.

Erdoğan speaks with Turkmenistan’s National Leader Berdimuhamedov

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a telephone call with Turkmenistan’s National Leader and Chairman of the People’s Council, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. According to a statement from the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, the leaders discussed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Turkmenistan as well as regional and global issues. In the call, Erdoğan said Türkiye and Turkmenistan would continue to develop their cooperation and keep taking steps to that end. He also invited Berdimuhamedov to the 13th Summit of the Organisation of Turkic States and the COP31 Climate Summit, and wished him a happy birthday.

Cabinet meets today: what’s on the agenda?

The Presidential Cabinet is to convene today at 4pm at Beştepe under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the NATO Leaders’ Summit to be held in Ankara on 6-7 July forming the main item on its agenda. The meeting is expected to include a comprehensive assessment of preparations for the summit, security measures and the topics to be addressed, with cabinet members reviewing the programme of bilateral contacts to be held during the summit and finalising preparations. Foreign policy matters will also be on the table, including an assessment of the ongoing negotiation process between the United States and Iran and of regional developments. The cabinet is further expected to take up work on the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process, as well as regulations concerning the lowest pension.

AK Party spokesman Çelik reacts sharply to Israel’s 1915 decision

AK Party spokesman Ömer Çelik has reacted sharply to a decision by the Israeli parliament concerning the events of 1915, saying the Netanyahu government’s move was far removed from historical and legal reality and describing it as an attempt to mask oppression of the Palestinians. In a post on his social media account, Çelik used harsh language against the Netanyahu government, pointing to Israel’s actions in Gaza and arguing the decision carried a political purpose. He said political networks that try to cover their own oppression with political lies had often been seen in history, calling Netanyahu and his team a “genocidal network” that he said was continuing to commit crimes in order to spread its crimes in Gaza to the West Bank as well, and contending that the so-called decision was far from legal and historical reality and that nothing such a network said carried any weight before history and the conscience of humanity. The reaction follows an announcement by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that a bill on Israel formally recognising the 1915 events as the “Armenian genocide” had been passed unanimously by the Israeli parliament; in a social media post afterwards, Sa’ar thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and government members who had supported the process, saying it was never too late to do the right thing and that Israel had thereby joined the countries fulfilling a moral duty, having earlier described the bill as a moral and historical responsibility.

Tamar Tanrıyar’s statement emerges after release under judicial control

The prosecutorial statement that Tamar Tanrıyar gave via the SEGBİS video-link system has come to light after she was released under judicial control, having been placed under investigation on suspicion of “insulting the President” and “publicly disseminating misleading information”. In her statement, given from the Kuşadası Courthouse to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Tanrıyar said she had made the post in question about two days earlier while on a cruise holiday, that it had touched on more than one subject although the press had treated it as if there were only one, and that she had named no individual or media outlet. According to halktv.com.tr, she said that in speaking of newspaper distribution she had given no name as to who distributed it, arguing that no one was obliged to distribute a newspaper belonging to media owned by a person being tried in connection with the FETÖ/PDY armed terrorist organisation, and that the “crypto brotherhood” she had referred to — which she said involved financial partnership between outlets appearing close to and distant from the government — was separate from and unconnected to Turkuvaz Media, her only criticism of which was that it distributed the Sözcü newspaper. Insisting she had in no way insulted the President — saying she could even end a friendship over matters concerning him and was ready to give her life — Tanrıyar said her remark likening events to a “15 July déjà vu” was a description rather than something based on inside information, and that her husband Can Tanrıyar, who is not a journalist, had no connection to the matter. The report recalls that the prosecutor’s office had launched the investigation on its own initiative, that Tanrıyar was found to have left the country via the Marmaris Sea Border Gate on 23 June, prompting an arrest warrant, and that after her detention she was released under judicial control, telling reporters on leaving the courthouse that she had turned herself in of her own accord and that everything was fine.

TPAO’s oil exploration licence in Adıyaman and Şanlıurfa extended

The oil exploration licence held by Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) for its field in Adıyaman and Şanlıurfa has been extended. The decision by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs concerning the petroleum right was published in the Official Gazette, extending the licence for the field numbered “AR/TPO/K/M41-b”, within the boundaries of Adıyaman and Şanlıurfa, until 8 June 2028. The field covers an area of 44,474 hectares. The extension was said to have been granted in order to determine the region’s hydrocarbon potential and bring those resources into the country’s economy.

🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)

AKP corridors: cabinet reshuffle postponed, comprehensive overhaul of party organisations on the way

Alongside economic and security topics, the performance of the party organisations came onto the agenda at the AKP’s Sapanca camp, and according to party corridor talk President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is preparing a comprehensive overhaul of those organisations while no cabinet reshuffle is planned in the short term. Reporting by Cumhuriyet’s Merve Kılıç notes that, beyond the official agenda of the 33rd Consultation and Evaluation Meeting held in the Sapanca district of Sakarya, preparations for change within the party came to the fore, with the economy, security, social expectations and new-era policies all discussed, but the most talked-about matter in the corridors being Erdoğan’s assessments of the organisations. Party officials say Erdoğan has been troubled by what he sees as a recent air of complacency in the organisations, and that comprehensive changes could therefore be on the cards both in the provincial and district branches and in the AKP Central Executive Board (MYK), with the aim of continuing with high-performing cadres in direct contact with citizens even though the election calendar has not begun. Claims of an early election were also weighed at the camp, with AKP sources saying they do not share expectations of a snap poll in autumn 2026 and that the government’s priority is the economy. On recent suggestions that a cabinet reshuffle would follow the NATO Summit, party sources say no such revision is planned before autumn, indicating that short-term change will be felt more in the party management and organisations, while any cabinet rearrangement could be reassessed later according to political and economic developments.

Demirtaş backs Deniz Göktaş with a letter: this people loves the Denizes whatever happens

Former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, held in Edirne Prison, has written a humorous letter of support to comedian Deniz Göktaş, who is under investigation, reacting to political humour being targeted and stressing that young people being able to think and speak freely is essential for social progress, writing that “this people loves the Denizes whatever happens”. In the letter shared on his social media account, Demirtaş jokes that his lawyers had warned him a young man named Deniz Göktaş was quietly eyeing his seat through political comedy and looked set to be arrested any day, to which he replied that this was welcome — since the prisons cannot hold two such inmates at once, Göktaş’s imprisonment would surely mean his own release. Encouraging and teasing the comedian, he says he cannot shorten his name because “Deniz always stays Deniz”, and that for ten years he had waited for someone to take his place, only to be let down by the likes of “Yılmaz and Cem”, whereas Göktaş has “the light” and will surely succeed. He advises Göktaş not to wait at home for the dawn raid but to go to Taksim and shout two solid slogans his lawyers will pass on, and offers brotherly criticism of Göktaş’s defence that one does not flee abroad with two pairs of shorts and two T-shirts, suggesting he instead invent something more convincing about gold prices. Demirtaş adds that the public loves the Denizes all the more when they do not return, and closes by appealing to the authorities to let young people think, speak and laugh without fear, since freedoms are indispensable for social progress, with the wry caveat that if Göktaş mocked him in his show, they should of course arrest him.

🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)

Claim: extraordinary congress demand and expulsion rulings in CHP set to go to court

New legal steps over a demand for an extraordinary congress and disciplinary processes within the CHP may come onto the agenda, with it being said that the camp around Özgür Özel could go to court if a congress decision is not taken by 11 July, and that some figures could turn to the courts if expulsion rulings are finalised. It is reported that fresh legal processes may arise in the CHP following investigations into municipalities and the “absolute nullity” case, and it has been claimed that if petitions submitted by 833 delegates demanding an extraordinary congress are not processed by the party headquarters, figures close to Özel could apply to the Civil Court of Peace. According to the Türkiye newspaper, Özel’s camp is said to be waiting until 11 July before applying, citing the party statute, under which the congress must be held on the last Sunday within at most 45 days of the signatures being submitted — a date said to fall on 26 July — with 11 July described as the critical date since a congress decision must be announced 15 days in advance. Another heading expected to be taken to court is the expulsion rulings: if rulings against the MPs, mayors and provincial chairs referred to discipline by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are finalised, those concerned could, it is said, turn to the courts on the grounds that the decisions are contrary to the statute.

CHP’s Murat Emir: if no extraordinary congress is held, we will go to court

At a press conference at the Grand National Assembly, CHP Group Deputy Chair Murat Emir warned that the party would go to court if no extraordinary congress were held, while criticising the targeting of comedian Deniz Göktaş and the security measures surrounding the NATO summit. Emir said Göktaş had been subjected to a three-day campaign for the offence of making political comedy and effective jokes, with claims that he had disrupted public order, posed a threat to national security and insulted the President, yet millions who watched would see there was nothing of the sort — only humour, criticism and satire. Turning to the extraordinary security measures in Ankara for the NATO Leaders’ Summit, he accused the authorities of turning the capital into a “ghost city” and of trying to hide Türkiye’s poverty — the waste-pickers, the pensioners rummaging through market leftovers — from visiting leaders behind NATO tarpaulins, arguing their only concern was that Trump not be protested and that Macron be able to jog freely, while citizens could not even reach a doctor. He said arrests had reached unimaginable levels, citing the detention of 42 TEMA Foundation volunteers, some close to 80, and put the current number of detainees at 178, accusing the authorities of “clearing the ground” by rounding people up pre-emptively without any offence or protest having occurred. Responding to President Erdoğan’s jibe that the CHP had created its own “Frankenstein”, Emir said there was no Frankenstein, no two-headedness and no infighting in the party, only a handful of people the President had found within it in line with his planned nullity ruling, set against the whole CHP family and the millions supporting it, telling him: you wished, dreamed and planned, but you could not divide the CHP. On a new party, he said there was extraordinary disinformation and urged journalists to disregard anything not said by the leader or authorised spokespeople, insisting the party was determined not to be handed over to “dirty palace operations” or made the “palace’s CHP”, while noting other options existed that would be shared in due course. Recalling that 833 congress delegates — over 90 per cent, excluding Istanbul — had demanded an extraordinary congress, Emir called on the headquarters to heed the law and the statute, which he said states the leader “convenes” the congress within 45 days rather than “may convene”, and said that if the necessary steps were not taken within that period they would of course go to court, though that time had not yet come. He added that the group meeting would go ahead as planned, with the leader’s address at 1.30pm the following day.

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