⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye
Giant Crane Vessel Passes Through Bosphorus, Closing Strait to Traffic
The Bosphorus was closed to shipping in both directions on Wednesday morning as the SAIPEM 7000, the world’s third-largest semi-submersible crane vessel, passed through Istanbul on its way from Libya’s Bouri port to Constanța in Romania. The Bahamas-flagged vessel, which is used in undersea pipelaying work and is capable of laying pipe at depths beyond 2,000 metres, entered the strait at around 6 a.m. accompanied by tugboats from the Directorate General of Coastal Safety. Measuring 198 metres in length and 135 metres in height, with a gross tonnage of 117,812, the ship’s twin-crane system can lift structures weighing up to 14,000 tonnes in a single operation.
Court Lifts Trustee Orders on Four Poultry Firms in Partial Climbdown Over Price-Fixing Probe
A Turkish court has overturned the appointment of supervisory trustees at four leading poultry producers — Gedik Piliç, Erpiliç, Keskinoğlu, and Lezita — after the companies challenged the measure, marking the first reversal in a wider crackdown on the white meat sector. According to journalist Ali Ekber Yıldırım, the ruling brings an end to trustee oversight for the four major producers, with appeals from the remaining affected firms expected to be resolved in the coming days; Yıldırım suggested all trustee appointments could be lifted entirely by 17 June. The investigation, led by Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, was launched over allegations of unjustified price rises and market manipulation in the poultry sector, resulting in detentions of numerous executives and the imposition of supervisory trustees at thirteen companies, including Banvit, Akpiliç, and Şenpiliç. The sector had already drawn scrutiny from Turkey’s Competition Authority, which concluded an investigation in 2025 by fining thirteen companies in the industry a combined total of approximately 3.7 billion lira.
Remzi Sanver Released in Can Holding Money-Laundering Investigation
Remzi Sanver, one of several executives detained in the sprawling investigation into Can Holding, has been released from custody after a court upheld an appeal by his lawyers against his pre-trial detention. The probe, led by Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, centres on allegations that Can Holding’s network of companies — directed by Kemal Can and Mehmet Şakir Can — formed a criminal organisation engaged in fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering, channelling funds of unclear origin through multiple firms whilst using fictitious invoices and false documentation to reduce tax liabilities. Investigators allege the group exploited a capital repatriation scheme intended to bring undeclared assets into the formal economy, instead using it to launder criminal proceeds, and that illicit funds were used to finance acquisitions in strategic sectors including education, media, finance, and energy. The investigation has so far resulted in the seizure of assets belonging to 121 companies, which have been placed under the trusteeship of Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, whilst Can Holding chairman Kemal Can remains in detention along with several other executives, including Can Yayın Holding chairman Mehmet Kenan Tekdağ, who is under house arrest and subject to a travel ban. Of the 25 suspects detained in a second wave of operations, eleven, including Sanver, were initially ordered held in pre-trial detention, with the remainder placed under various judicial supervision measures such as travel bans and reporting requirements.
New Vehicle Registrations Fall 24 Per Cent in May, But Overall Fleet Tops 34 Million
Turkey’s Statistical Institute reported that 159,623 vehicles were newly registered in May, a 24.1 per cent decline on the same month last year, whilst 4,082 vehicles were deregistered, leaving the total number of vehicles on Turkish roads up by 155,541 for the month. Cars accounted for 47.5 per cent of new registrations, followed by motorcycles at 37.2 per cent, with Renault, Volkswagen, and Hyundai the best-selling car brands. The total registered vehicle fleet rose 6.8 per cent year-on-year to surpass 34.36 million by the end of May, of which cars made up just over half. Across the first five months of the year, new registrations fell 14.7 per cent on the equivalent period in 2025 to 767,999, whilst deregistrations rose 19.5 per cent, leaving the overall fleet up by 745,162 vehicles since January; among new cars registered in that period, petrol models accounted for 40.7 per cent, hybrids 32.2 per cent, and electric vehicles 18.4 per cent.
🏛️ Politics
Erdogan Hosts Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Amid Renewed Talk of Reopening Halki Seminary
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Presidential Complex on Tuesday for a meeting closed to the press, with the encounter drawing particular attention as it came amid intensifying efforts and international contacts aimed at reopening the Halki Seminary on Heybeliada island, which has remained closed for nearly half a century.
Speaker Kurtulmuş Meets DEM Party Delegation, Both Sides Push for Framework Law Before Parliament’s Recess
Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş met with DEM Party İmralı Committee members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar on Tuesday to discuss the progress of the ongoing peace process, the committee’s contacts with political parties, and the recommendations contained in parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission report. According to a statement from parliament, the meeting acknowledged significant progress achieved so far and stressed the importance of carrying out the necessary parliamentary work to bring the so-called Terror-Free Turkey process to a successful conclusion. The DEM delegation said it had pressed the Speaker on the need to pass a framework law of central importance to the process before parliament goes into recess, and reported that Kurtulmuş shared their view that the legislation should be enacted before then, pledging to make every effort towards that goal.
Turkish Parliament to Forgo Summer Recess, Extending Sessions Into July
Turkey’s parliament will not begin its scheduled summer recess on 1 July as planned, after the AKP-sponsored motion to extend the legislative calendar was approved and published in the Official Gazette. Under the new schedule, sittings will run without interruption until law proposals numbered up to 242 are concluded on 23, 24 and 25 June, with the chamber continuing into early July to deal with further proposals on 30 June and 1 and 2 July; parliament will, however, pause its sessions on 7, 8 and 9 July to accommodate the 36th NATO Summit being held in Ankara. CHP deputy parliamentary group chairman Murat Emir criticised the extended calendar as a further sign of disregard for parliament and the national will, predicting that doctoral students studying the motion in fifty years’ time would conclude that its authors had been remarkably unserious and seemed to imagine themselves as Superman.
Two Candidates Shortlisted for Turkey’s Court of Accounts Presidency
Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee has narrowed the field for the presidency of Turkey’s Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) down to two candidates, incumbent President Metin Yener and Bahtiyar Sazlık, Director General of Budget at the Presidency’s Strategy and Budget Directorate, ahead of Yener’s term expiring on 25 June. Meeting under AKP Samsun MP Mehmet Muş, the committee whittled down an initial pool of eleven eligible applicants — one of twelve original candidates having been disqualified for failing to meet application requirements — with Yener and Sazlık each receiving eight votes from a fifteen-member preliminary committee and three votes left blank; CHP members were reportedly unable to attend the session. The two names will now go forward to a secret ballot in the full chamber, where the winner will need an absolute majority of those present, provided that this is no fewer than a quarter of parliament’s total membership plus one. The presidency carries a five-year term, renewable once, and the outgoing president will continue to serve as a regular member of the court, taking the first vacant seat and assuming seniority over other members.
NATO to Deploy Italian Air Defence System to Turkish Airbase
Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence announced on Tuesday that an Italian-owned SAMP-T air defence system will be deployed to the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in Konya, as part of NATO’s Permanent Defence Plan aimed at strengthening the alliance’s air defence capabilities.
Interior Minister Reshuffles 430 Provincial Administrators in Latest Decree
Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced that 430 provincial administrators across the ministry’s central and field organisations have had their posts reassigned under a decree published in the Official Gazette and signed by President Erdogan, with the changes based on merit, seniority, service requirements, and institutional needs. Of those affected, 15 district governors and deputy governors serving in the field were brought into central ministry roles, whilst 208 district governors were moved to other district governorships, 82 were promoted to deputy governor posts, 74 deputy governors were reassigned to other deputy governorships, and 32 deputy governors were moved into district governor roles; further changes affected five district governors in Istanbul, four in Ankara, and six in Izmir. The minister also confirmed that four administrators serving as government-appointed trustees in districts were reassigned to posts matching their seniority and record of service, with experienced replacements brought in to take over trustee duties. Separately, the Official Gazette confirmed a series of senior ministry appointments, including new deputy director generals for personnel, civil society relations, and information technology, while a previous decision to transfer Önder Can from Uşak to Nevşehir as deputy governor was annulled.
City Hospitals Have Mortgaged the Health Ministry’s Budget, Argues Former CHP MP
In an opinion piece, Professor Kayıhan Pala — a former CHP member of parliament and head of the party’s presidential candidate office health policy board — argues that Turkey’s public-private partnership “city hospital” model has saddled the Health Ministry with crippling long-term financial obligations that benefit private contractors at the expense of public welfare. Pala notes that the original 34-hospital programme, launched under the World Bank-endorsed “build-lease-transfer” model, was scaled back to 18 projects after researchers and the Turkish Medical Association exposed its inflated costs, with one study finding the Bilkent City Hospital project priced 73 per cent above what conventional public procurement would have cost. He cites a range of estimates for the total 25-year financial burden of the 18 hospitals — from an official 2016 development ministry figure of 30.3 billion dollars, to an academic estimate of 81.2 billion dollars, to a 2024 parliamentary disclosure by the Health Minister himself putting the potential maximum cost at 322 billion euros — and states that payments made between 2017 and 2025 already exceed 13.4 billion dollars, with a further 1.43 billion dollars paid in the first five months of 2026 alone. Pala calculates that at the current rate of roughly 3.5 billion dollars annually, total payments could exceed 80 billion dollars over the life of the contracts, excluding additional service fees and undisclosed commercial revenues generated by retail space within the hospitals, and contrasts this expenditure with the far lower cost of building equivalent public hospital capacity directly. He further notes that the ministry has this year moved to privatise health-related land assets via presidential decrees, which he frames as an attempt to generate funds while still servicing these contractual obligations, and concludes that the city hospital model has left the health budget effectively held hostage to private interests.
🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)
25-Year AKP Member Forcibly Removed From Party Meeting After Heckling Trabzon Mayor
A long-standing AKP supporter named Temel Kara was dragged out of a meeting of the party’s Trabzon Provincial Advisory Council by security guards after heckling Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç during his speech. Kara, who said he had worked for the party for around 25 years, accused the mayor of lying and shouted his objections from the floor, claiming his demands had gone unmet. Genç attempted to placate him, telling him to remain calm and assuring him that his issue had been resolved, offering to have tea brought to him while he waited, but when Kara continued his protest, police security personnel intervened and forcibly removed him from the hall, with the incident captured on camera. The meeting was also attended by AKP Trabzon MPs Vehbi Koç and Adil Karaismailoğlu, the latter a former Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.
Police Special Operations Chief Presents Bahçeli with Symbolic Gifts in Parliament Visit
Ünsal Hayal, head of Turkey’s Police Special Operations Department, visited MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament, presenting him with soil from the graves of those killed in the 15 July 2016 coup attempt and a painting depicting the Dome of the Rock, a symbol of Jerusalem. A statement from the Special Operations Department described the gifts as a meaningful gesture linking the legacy of Turkey’s “martyrs” with the nation’s shared values, calling it a powerful expression of national unity and historical and spiritual ties.
🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)
Silivri Mayor Bora Balcıoğlu Suspended From Office Following Detention
Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday evening that Bora Balcıoğlu, the CHP mayor of Silivri, has been suspended from his post as a temporary measure following his pre-trial detention on charges of forming and leading a criminal organisation, bribery, and laundering the proceeds of crime, in line with Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipal Law. The suspension comes after Balcıoğlu was remanded in custody as part of a corruption investigation led by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
İYİ Party Demands to Know Why Government Targets Poultry Firms But Spares “Red Meat Barons”
İYİ Party deputy parliamentary group chairman Turhan Çömez used a parliamentary debate to accuse the government of selectively cracking down on the poultry industry whilst ignoring far steeper price rises in the red meat sector, after submitting a motion calling for an inquiry into price increases, alleged cartel behaviour, and the legal damage caused by the appointment of trustees to thirteen poultry companies. Çömez argued that rather than negotiating with industry representatives over rising input costs, the government had deployed the Justice Ministry to detain company executives, accountants and finance directors and install state-appointed administrators, predicting that this approach would ultimately fail to control prices once costs linked to imported feed, fuel, and veterinary supplies caught up by autumn. He further highlighted an 84.2 per cent increase in the price paid by the Meat and Milk Institute for imported livestock, compared with roughly 1,000 per cent cumulative red meat inflation since January 2022 against around 350 per cent for poultry, and asked why the government had not raided what he termed the “red meat barons” responsible for what he called Turkey’s dependence on imported beef. Responding for the CHP, Diyarbakır MP Mustafa Sezgin Tanrıkulu argued that price intervention had no place in criminal law and traced the legal basis for the trustee appointments to judicial reforms passed in March 2024, accusing the government of using extraordinary powers granted to state fund administrators to seize companies, strip away property rights, and dispose of assets without due process. The İYİ Party’s motion was rejected by AKP and MHP votes.