⚖️ Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye
$3.7bn Medicare fraud suspect captured in Türkiye handed over to the United States
A man accused of being one of the central figures in a $3.7bn scheme to defraud the US Medicare system has been brought to the United States after his arrest in Türkiye, the FBI has announced. According to the bureau, İbrahim Khaldoon Hilmi fled the United States in May 2025 and was subsequently detained in Türkiye as part of the investigation against him, before being handed over to FBI teams in coordination with the Turkish authorities and transferred to the US in an international operation on Friday. FBI Director Kash Patel said Hilmi was linked to one of the largest Medicare fraud cases in American history and stood accused of organising the roughly $3.7bn scheme. The operation was carried out jointly by the FBI’s Miami field office, the US Department of Justice and Turkish officials, and Patel thanked the US Ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrack, for his support. The bureau separately noted that Herbert Kimble, wanted in a distinct Medicare fraud investigation worth around $1.3bn, had also recently been brought to the United States, bringing the combined alleged losses across the two cases to nearly $5bn. US officials stressed that those accused of large-scale financial crimes would continue to be pursued even if they had fled abroad.
Lorry carrying military munitions overturns on Bolu Mountain pass, closing the Istanbul-bound carriageway
A section of the Istanbul-bound carriageway on the D-100 highway at the Bolu Mountain pass has been closed to traffic after a lorry believed to be carrying military munitions overturned, according to a report carried by the Anadolu Agency. The vehicle, driven by an as-yet unidentified driver, was travelling towards Istanbul when it lost control and overturned at the Bakacak location within the boundaries of the Kaynaşlı district of Düzce. The lorry’s trailer was thought to contain military munitions in its containers, and the carriageway in that direction was sealed off as a result. Teams have cordoned off the area with a security line beginning roughly a kilometre before the crash site, redirecting affected vehicles onto the road towards the village of Darıyeri Hasanbey so that they can rejoin the D-100 highway at Kaynaşlı.
Governor jailed over Gülistan Doku investigation remains on Interior Ministry’s list of chief inspectors
The name of Tuncay Sonel, the former governor arrested in the investigation into missing Munzur University student Gülistan Doku, has still not been removed from the Interior Ministry’s list of chief inspectors, despite his being accused of concealing evidence and manipulating the case. Doku disappeared on 5 January 2020, and in April this year, six years on, twelve people were arrested, among them Sonel, his son Mustafa Türkay Sonel and the former head physician of Tunceli State Hospital, Çağdaş Özdemir; another key figure, Umut Altaş, was detained in the United States on 22 May after fleeing. The deletion of data from the SIM card of Doku’s phone and of hospital records, together with the destruction of numerous security-camera images, has suggested an organised attempt to cover up the case. According to a report by Uğurcan Boztaş of the Mezopotamya Agency, Sonel — described as one of the principal perpetrators, who is said to have used his authority to suppress the file and to foster the perception that Doku had taken her own life — remains listed by the Civil Service Inspection Board among its governor and civil-service chief inspectors. A narrowed cell-site report dated 3 April 2026 found that, at the time and place Doku was last seen, her phone’s location data matched that of several individuals, including the former governor’s son, a provincial special-administration official, the governor’s police bodyguard and others, including Altaş. One official, Erdoğan Elaldı, denied knowing a fellow suspect, Zainal Abakarov, yet signals reportedly placed them at the same location and a café near the governor’s office, while another individual who denied knowing Doku was said to be contradicted by phone signals and CCTV footage. Altaş, whose extradition to Türkiye is expected, gave significant statements in an audio recording obtained by JINNEWS, saying he would reveal everything, that he held proof capable of closing the case and identifying the killer, and urging prosecutors and the consulate to contact him. Searches carried out on 11 June at locations he had indicated — the Dinar Stream, the area around Munzur University and the Sarısaltuk Viaduct — yielded no results.
Six suspects jailed over abduction of Istanbul municipality executive Erhan Karaal
Six people have been remanded in custody and a further six placed under judicial supervision in the investigation into the abduction of Erhan Karaal, deputy general manager of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s culture company, Kültür A.Ş. Karaal was seized outside his home in Istanbul’s Maltepe district at around 9pm on Wednesday 17 June by three unidentified men, and was rescued following work by the robbery unit of the police’s public-order branch. He was taken to hospital for treatment, while twelve suspects were detained in an investigation launched by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office; after questioning at the public-order branch in Gayrettepe, all twelve were referred to the courthouse. Six were sent before a magistrate on a request for arrest and were jailed, while judicial supervision was ordered for the other six. In his statement, Karaal said he had been forced into a vehicle by men claiming to be police who told him they were taking him to the Vatan police headquarters, and that he was beaten with sticks and iron bars and tortured throughout his captivity. He recounted that his captors accused him of being the “money man” for a former municipality official and for Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, demanded 300 kilograms of gold, and tortured him when he said he did not have such sums. Karaal said he was rescued by police as he was about to be killed at the final location to which he had been taken; he had been found bound hand and foot in a derelict prefabricated structure on a construction site in Tuzla.
Wave of house raids in Ankara ahead of NATO summit, with scores detained
A large number of people active in various political and social organisations have been detained in early-morning house raids in Ankara ahead of the NATO summit. According to the ANKA news agency, police teams raided numerous addresses in the early hours following a series of bans imposed by the Ankara Governor’s Office in connection with the summit, detaining individuals said to be active in a range of political and social groups, with the number of those held understood to be around 100. No official information has yet been given on the grounds for the operations, and those detained are reported to have been subjected to a 24-hour restriction on access to a lawyer. The Revolutionary Party (Devrimci Parti) announced on social media that its chair, Elif Torun Öneren, and many of its members had been detained in the raids, saying their doors had been broken down, and adding that the party would not be cowed and that its revolutionary struggle could not be stopped.
Nursery worker accused of striking children in Bayrampaşa referred to court as inspectors investigate
A 60-year-old woman, identified only as A.B., has been detained after allegedly striking children at a nursery school in Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa district, and was referred to the courthouse following police questioning, while footage of her hitting children with a stick was captured on security cameras. The incidents are said to have taken place on Tuesday 16 June, Wednesday 17 June and Friday 19 June at a private foreign-run nursery in the Cevatpaşa neighbourhood, where A.B., an employee, is alleged to have struck children with a stick while trying to get them to take their afternoon nap, and to have mistreated and hit children in the canteen. Acting on a complaint, officers examined the nursery’s security-camera recordings and detained A.B., who was referred to the courthouse after her processing at the police station was completed. The footage reportedly shows her striking children with a stick before nap time, with separate images said to show her mistreating and hitting children in the canteen. Teams from the Ministry of Family and Social Services also visited the nursery to carry out an inspection.
🏛️ Politics
Polish President Nawrocki to visit Türkiye
Polish President Karol Nawrocki is to visit Türkiye at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the head of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, has announced. In a post on social media, Duran said Nawrocki would make an official visit on 23-24 June. He said the talks held during the visit would review relations between Türkiye and Poland in all their aspects and consider steps that might be taken to develop existing cooperation, adding that, alongside bilateral matters, an exchange of views was also envisaged on current regional and global issues.
President Erdoğan holds phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Zeydi
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zeydi, in which the two leaders discussed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Iraq as well as regional and global issues, according to a statement from the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications on its social media account. During the call, Erdoğan said Türkiye wished to advance its relations with Iraq further in the period ahead, noting that the potential for cooperation was considerable, particularly in the fields of energy, the defence industry and transport. He also invited the Iraqi Prime Minister to visit Türkiye for comprehensive consultations.
“Framework law” highly likely to pass through parliament before summer’s end, columnist says
There is a strong chance that legislation will pass through the Turkish Grand National Assembly before the summer is out, with members of the PKK set to begin laying down their weapons and surrendering to bring this about, according to the journalist Fatih Çekirge, citing political circles in Ankara. Writing in Hürriyet, Çekirge reported that the İmralı Delegation — made up of DEM Party deputies Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar — together with the DEM Party has moved to push for the anticipated “framework law” to be passed before parliament rises for recess, having told Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş of their expectations and reasoning on the matter. Çekirge said his initial impression was that the likelihood of laws passing before the end of summer was very strong, and that to achieve this the members of the now-dissolved organisation would begin to lay down arms and surrender. He noted that the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) was continuing its talks with İmralı and that a statement from Abdullah Öcalan might be forthcoming, expected to declare that the armed struggle had ended irreversibly and that weapons must be fully surrendered. According to the developments Çekirge said he had gleaned from these circles, roughly 85 per cent of the process had so far been completed; the disarmament would accelerate after Öcalan’s statement; Turkish security and intelligence units would report on the process; a short-lived law, lasting some six to eight months, would then be passed; no perception of an amnesty would be created; the feelings of the relatives of those killed and of veterans, and the nation’s values, would not be wounded; and the organisation’s self-dissolution and disarmament would be confirmed by the National Security Council before the laws were passed ahead of the recess. Çekirge added that a consensus had formed among the parties, that the summer months mattered because a prolonged process could become open to provocation and because disarmament would be easier then, and that the Speaker had told party representatives this was now a path of no return, with the nation able to see anyone who sought to spoil the process.
Justice Minister announces new circular on street gangs across all 81 provinces
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has announced that a new and comprehensive circular on combating organised crime has been sent to the chief public prosecutors’ offices at heavy penal courts across all 81 of Türkiye’s provinces. In a post on social media, Gürlek said the fight against criminal organisations, digital gangs and structures targeting young people would be pursued without concession under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and that the circular, on the theme of “Combating Organised Crime”, had been sent by the Directorate General of Criminal Affairs to 175 chief public prosecutors’ offices at heavy penal courts. He said the measure aimed to ensure that judicial processes were carried out more swiftly, more effectively and in a comprehensive manner against criminal groups that operate in cities, exploit children and young people, spread criminal propaganda through social media, and seek to intimidate citizens through extortion, threats, looting and armed actions. Gürlek said investigations would be conducted by prosecutors specialising in organised crime, with more than one prosecutor assigned where necessary and zero-tolerance coordination maintained with law-enforcement units, and that such structures would be targeted not only through their street-level gunmen but also their leaders, instigators and financial sources, including criminal proceeds laundered through crypto-assets and illegal betting. He added that the full range of legal sanctions would be applied most severely against those seeking to draw children and young people into criminal networks, with increased penalties where children were exploited for organisational purposes; that content on social media glorifying criminal organisations or directing young people towards crime would be acted upon immediately; that secure-reporting, confidentiality and witness-protection mechanisms would be operated under state guarantee; and that prosecutors, police, gendarmerie and all relevant units would monitor the effort through regular coordination meetings, vowing that no quarter would be given to street gangs or those who extort tradespeople, whatever guise they hid behind.
Ankara puts security measures in place ahead of NATO summit
The Ankara Governor’s Office has announced that the necessary security measures have been put in place for the 36th NATO summit, to be held in the city on 7-8 July, in order to ensure the summit’s security and to maintain public order and citizens’ peace and safety. According to the statement, unauthorised vehicles and individuals will be barred from designated sensitive areas across Ankara, chiefly the venues where the summit will be held, the places where the delegations will stay and the routes along which they will travel. All flights of unmanned aerial vehicles in Ankara’s airspace will be prohibited without the Governor’s permission during the period. The office added that, under Article 11/C of Law No. 5442 and Article 17 of Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstration Marches, gatherings, meetings and demonstration marches, press statements, hunger strikes, sit-ins, protests, rallies, the setting up of stands or tents, and the distribution of leaflets, statements and brochures or the hanging of posters and banners — whether in open or enclosed spaces — have been banned for 13 days, from midnight on 28 June until 11.59pm on 10 July.
Timetable tightens for “framework law” as AKP figures insist no step without confirmed disarmament
The likelihood of a “framework law” being passed before the Turkish Grand National Assembly rises for recess is diminishing, in the new resolution process the government has dubbed “Terror-Free Türkiye”, with AKP sources stating that disarmament has not been confirmed or verified and assessing that no law would be passed while weapons remained firmly in place. According to Türkiye Gazetesi, sources in the party said politics had done its part, but that despite assurances the disarmament process would continue, no concrete step had been taken: it was unclear who had laid down arms or how many had done so, and the relevant state institutions had carried out no verification or confirmation. Security sources reportedly said that, although there was activity on the ground, the process was not at the desired point, and that while an acceleration over the coming weeks could bring a regulation onto the agenda in July, this looked a remote prospect as things stood. AKP figures said the stance of President and party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was likewise that no step would be taken without verification and confirmation. Parliament is expected to sit until the end of July, but the General Assembly will not convene for a week because of the NATO meeting, and in the remaining time a judicial package, a fiscal omnibus bill including a pension regulation, and a student amnesty are to be taken up; the framework law does not feature in the current schedule, though it is suggested a step could be taken in the final week if there is concrete progress on disarmament.
🤝Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)
İYİ Party and former CHP mayors said to be set to join the AKP
The İYİ Party’s Nevşehir mayor, Rasim Arı, and the Keçiören mayor, Mesut Özarslan, who resigned from the CHP, are claimed to be poised to join the AKP at an expanded meeting of provincial chairs on Thursday. According to behind-the-scenes information shared on social media by the journalist İsmail Saymaz, there is talk that both mayors will join the governing party. Özarslan announced his resignation from the CHP on 8 February and, during the process, brought a defamation case against CHP leader Özgür Özel, citing insults directed at him as the reason for his departure; Özel, for his part, claimed that Özarslan was switching parties because of investigations into corruption allegations and had long stopped answering his calls. It had been reported that the AKP leadership was considering Özarslan’s admission but had decided to hold off on the move for a time. In recent weeks Özarslan made a notable gesture, sending flowers to the top team of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who returned to the CHP leadership following a court ruling of absolute nullity. Messages Özel is alleged to have sent Özarslan — said to have followed a meeting with Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum — had long remained in the news, in which Özel reportedly called him a sycophant and accused him of selling out Mansur Yavaş and of confessing to being corrupt and a thief. CHP sources who spoke to T24 alleged that there were five criminal complaints against Özarslan, that he had for some time been holding secret talks with the AKP over the corruption allegations, and that he had agreed to join the AKP after securing a promise that these files would be closed; Özarslan, meanwhile, had filed a criminal complaint against Özel with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of threat and insult.
Beykoz municipality buys 35 Togg vehicles under mayor who switched from CHP to AKP
The Beykoz municipality, led by acting mayor Özlem Vural Gürzel — who was elected acting mayor from the CHP after Alaattin Köseler’s arrest and then crossed to the AKP — has added 35 Togg vehicles to its fleet using public funds. According to BirGün, the electric vehicles were brought into the municipality’s service fleet at an event held at the Çavuşbaşı municipal garage, and it was stated that the cars were not leased but would belong outright to the municipality. As reported by Sözcü, Gürzel said at the handover programme that the municipality had added 35 electric Togg vehicles to its service fleet and that these were now the municipality’s own property rather than rentals. The purchase became a talking point on social media, with members of the public reacting against Gürzel’s acquisition of 35 Toggs for the municipality using public money. Gürzel was the first figure in Istanbul to cross from the CHP to the AKP: she was elected Beykoz acting mayor from the CHP in a council vote on 10 March 2025 after Köseler was arrested and removed from office, announced her resignation from the CHP on 9 September 2025 citing internal pressure and insults, and on 13 September 2025 formally joined the AKP, with the badge pinned on by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — a move that handed the council majority and control of Beykoz municipality from the opposition to the governing party.
Demirtaş could be released in the autumn, pro-government journalist claims
Fatih Atik, a journalist known for his closeness to the government, has claimed that there is talk in Ankara that former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş could be released in the autumn as part of the resolution process. According to Gazete Pencere, Demirtaş has been in the news recently after stating, during a television broadcast in which Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu took part, that he had no regrets over the lifting of parliamentary immunities. Atik said that among the matters being discussed in Ankara was whether the process might evolve in a different direction should Demirtaş join the DEM Party leadership after his release. His release had been expected at the end of 2025: the European Court of Human Rights issued its first final and binding ruling in the main case against him through its Grand Chamber on 22 December 2020, calling for his immediate release, and in the continuing judicial process the court issued a further violation ruling on 8 July 2025 concerning his second detention in the Kobani case. After Türkiye’s objection to this latest ruling was rejected by the court, the most recent release and rights-violation decision became final as of November 2025, acquiring a binding character for the legal process.
🗳️ Opposition Parties (CHP and others)
All eyes on CHP executive meetings amid talk of fresh expulsion list
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has returned to the CHP leadership by a court ruling, will convene the party’s Central Executive Committee and the Party Assembly today, amid talk in party circles that his administration will hand down new expulsion and dismissal decisions at the two meetings, with possible names being discussed. According to a report by Mahir Bağış for Nefes, CHP circles are talking of the expulsion of Ankara MP Adnan Beker and Sakarya MP Ümit Dikbayır, both of whom joined the CHP after resigning from the İYİ Party and continuing for a time as independents, while it is also said that some provincial and district chairs will be removed. The dismissal of Kayseri provincial chair Ufuk Ozan Gözbaşı, who launched disciplinary proceedings against three district chairs appointed by the Kılıçdaroğlu administration, is regarded as all but certain. At the last Central Executive Committee meeting, personnel changes were made in Ankara, İzmir, Gaziantep, Adana, Malatya and Bursa: Ankara acting provincial chair Yüksel Işık was removed and replaced by Fahri Yıldırım, while Hasan Nasır replaced Gaziantep chair Vakkas Acar, Orhan Bayram replaced Adana chair Anıl Tamburoğlu, and Hakan Satılmış replaced Malatya chair Barış Yıldız. Bursa provincial chair Nihat Yeşiltaş was removed and replaced by Turgut Özkan, and in İzmir provincial chair Çağatay Güç and his administration were dismissed and replaced by former Çiğli mayor Utku Gümrükçü, with the party administrations in these provinces also dissolved.
CHP MP Kesici claims Kılıçdaroğlu wants the Özgür Özel camp out, warning right-wing politics will tear the party apart
CHP Istanbul MP İlhan Kesici has claimed that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu wants the faction around Özgür Özel to leave the party, saying that although Kılıçdaroğlu publicly urges them not to split the party, this should not be believed and that he would do everything to push them out. Speaking to journalist Fatih Altaylı, who recounted their conversation in his column, Kesici said things were going badly for the party and the opposition and that this was only the beginning following the court’s ruling of absolute nullity. He argued that he knew the disposition of right-wing politics well — that the Milli Görüş movement, religious conservatives and political Islamists, whatever one called them, had never cared for the CHP, equating it with İsmet İnönü and viewing İnönü as on a par with Stalin or Hitler, or worse — and that they would now seize the moment to tear the CHP to pieces, currently watching the party wear itself down before launching a campaign once this phase was over. On talk of a new party being founded, Kesici said it was not his concern whether one should be, but that he knew Kılıçdaroğlu wanted the Özel camp gone, would press on their nerves, and would come down harder still if they sought compromise. He likened the situation to a tug of war in which neither side would budge until the rope snapped, recalling that after 1980 Bülent Ecevit had left to found a new party and gone on to become prime minister and win an election while leaving the CHP below the threshold, so a new party was not impossible. As for the chance of reconciliation, Kesici said there was almost none for now, and assessed that Özel’s single greatest mistake had been his failure to dispel the perception that the party was being run from prison.