Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye
⚖️ Turkey Tells Strasbourg Court That Gezi Was an Uprising — and That Acquittal Would Be Impossible If It Had Succeeded
The European Court of Human Rights convened its 17-judge Grand Chamber on 25 March to hear Osman Kavala’s second application, in a 2.5-hour hearing that produced a striking defence of his conviction by Turkey’s government representatives, including the newly appointed dean of Boğaziçi University’s law faculty, Ali Emrah Bozbayındır. Bozbayındır argued that the 2013 Gezi Park protests constituted an uprising movement and a collective crime under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, that Kavala was convicted not as a direct perpetrator of violence but as a co-principal who organised, planned, and financed the movement, and — in the hearing’s most remarked-upon passage — that it was not logically necessary for the attempt to succeed in order for the offence to be complete, “because if you succeed in this type of crime, there will probably be no judge left to try it.” Bozbayındır also argued that the ECHR should not act as a court of appeal for national criminal proceedings, whilst Turkey’s Justice Ministry human rights chief Abdullah Aydın contended that Kavala had not exhausted domestic remedies given pending applications before the Constitutional Court. Kavala’s legal team, led by professors Philip Leach and Başak Çalı, maintained that he is an innocent man who has been unlawfully imprisoned for more than eight years and is the victim of a blatant misuse of the criminal justice system designed to silence him. The Grand Chamber is expected to issue its final ruling in the coming months, following a 15-day period for additional written submissions from both parties.
🏛️ Former AKP MP and Ex-MÜSİAD President Remanded in Custody on Unlicensed Capital Markets Charges
Bayram Ali Bayramoğlu, a former AKP member of parliament and former president of the Islamic business association MÜSİAD, has been remanded in custody by an Istanbul duty judge on charges of conducting unlicensed capital markets activities, following a investigation by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office. Turkey’s Capital Markets Board had announced in December 2025 that it had filed a criminal complaint against Bayramoğlu, alleging that he facilitated unlicensed capital markets operations through the bank accounts of companies under his control. Bayramoğlu is a founding member and former deputy chairman of MÜSİAD, served as its president between 1999 and 2004, and has been involved in developing Turkish business relations with Arab countries through the DEİK Turkish-Saudi Arabia Business Council.
⚖️ ‘Four Men From One Family Have Been in Custody for Ten Months’: Istanbul Trial Hears Overcrowded Cell Conditions and Family Hostage Claims
The eleventh session of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality trial at Silivri produced a series of notable moments, beginning with İmamoğlu questioning his co-defendant, Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, and eliciting confirmation that Çalık had actually turned down İmamoğlu’s request to stand as a candidate in 2019 — undermining the prosecution’s portrait of a tightly controlled criminal organisation. Çalık’s lawyers noted pointedly that whilst bribery allegations relate to his time as an adviser, there are no charges covering his period as mayor, asking rhetorically whether he had simply left the organisation upon taking office. Çalık was taken to the prison hospital after his testimony and kept there for three hours; his lawyers warned that his leukaemia risk of relapse makes continued detention a threat not merely to his health but to his life. The afternoon session heard from Murat Keleş, nephew of detained İBB Sports Club president Fatih Keleş, who told the court that four male members of his family — his uncle, father, cousin, and himself — have been held for approximately ten months, leaving the women and children of the family in severe hardship. He denied bribery charges he said rest entirely on the uncorroborated testimony of a single active-remorse witness, described prison conditions in which nine people share a cell designed for one, and alleged he was pressured during his initial detention to testify against his uncle. His lawyer drew a comparison to the 1950s Rosenberg case in the United States, arguing that the three relatives are being held as psychological leverage against the primary target.
🚔 CHP Mayor of Uşak Arrested in Dawn Raids as Opposition Demands to Know Why All Such Cases Are Being Handled by Istanbul Prosecutors
CHP Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım and eleven others have been detained in simultaneous early morning raids across Uşak, Ankara, and Kocaeli, conducted by Istanbul’s organised crime bureau and financial crimes unit — the latest in a series of operations against CHP-run municipalities. Istanbul’s public prosecutor’s office issued a detailed statement alleging that Yalım’s administration ran a wide-ranging scheme involving duplicate invoicing on municipal contracts with kickbacks, pressure on companies to give shareholdings to the mayor’s family members in exchange for winning tenders, cash donations delivered to the mayor’s office without receipts and misappropriated by his chief of staff, nightclub expenses disguised as official hospitality in municipal accounts, and the transfer of all his registered assets to his driver in 2025 ahead of anticipated seizure. The statement further alleges that a romantic partner was placed on a high-salary municipal payroll without actually working there, that staff at the mayor’s private venue were registered as municipal employees with their insurance paid by the council, and that a businessman whose shopping centre was sealed and fined 65 million lira the same week he declined to donate ten vehicles to the municipality has given testimony corroborated by financial and communications data. CHP MP Mahmut Tanal hit back by questioning why investigations into municipalities in Adana, Antalya, Kuşadası, Ceyhan, and now Uşak are all being conducted by Istanbul prosecutors rather than local ones as required by criminal procedure law, saying the centralisation of cases in a single office gives the appearance not of impartial justice but of politically motivated management.
🔫 Shell Turkey Investment Director and Venue Owner Shot Dead in Late-Night Attack on İzmit Entertainment Venue
Two men were killed and a police officer critically wounded in a drive-by shooting at an entertainment venue in İzmit’s Ömerağa neighbourhood shortly after midnight. Unidentified attackers arrived by car, opened fire with a handgun, drove away, then returned to fire again before fleeing. The two men killed have been identified as venue owner Volkan Berberoğlu and Cem Özer, Shell Turkey’s investment director and a member of Kocaelispor’s congress, described as a well-known and widely liked figure in the city. A police officer named Talip Çakır, close to retirement, was taken to Kocaeli State Hospital in a serious condition and underwent surgery. Police have launched a manhunt for the attackers.
🐕 Court Orders 10 Million Lira Payout After Stray Dog Chase Left Primary School Boy With Permanent Disabilities
A Manisa administrative court has ordered Manisa Metropolitan Municipality and Yunusemre Municipality to pay a combined total of over 10.25 million lira in compensation, including interest, after ruling that their failure to control stray animals contributed to life-changing injuries suffered by a primary school pupil in October 2022. The boy, identified only as E.K., was chasing away a stray dog outside his home when he was struck by a passing van, and spent 58 days fighting for his life in intensive care before surviving with permanent damage to his ability to walk, speak, and use his limbs. The court found that the local authorities had failed in their duty to monitor and take necessary measures regarding stray animals, and held them liable for the resulting harm. The compensation comprises approximately 6.8 million lira in material damages and 250,000 lira in non-material damages. The boy’s father, a market trader, told reporters the four-year wait for a verdict had been exhausting and that financial constraints had prevented the family from providing their son with all the treatment he needs, adding that the child, now approaching his eleventh birthday, remains in ongoing treatment.
🏗️ AKP-Run Municipality Faces Investigation Over Claims That Building Permits Were Issued With a Single Signature and Fees Left Uncollected
The district governorate of Menemen has granted permission for a criminal investigation into planning irregularities at the AKP-administered Menemen Municipality covering the period 2022 to 2025, following complaints from council members and press reports. A preliminary inquiry report prepared by inspectors appointed by İzmir Governorate found that legally required fees — including road and drainage levies, building construction charges, and car parking contributions — were not collected on multiple projects, and that in one case a 5,000 square metre construction was charged only 150,000 lira, deemed wholly disproportionate to the project’s scale. The report also found that permits which should have required technical review and multiple approvals were instead signed off by the acting planning director alone, and that some buildings were licensed without a supervision firm being appointed or the required institutional consultations being completed. Investigators noted that the same individual acting as both drafter and approver of permits violates the basic principle of separation of duties. The investigation was formally authorised by the Menemen district governor on 16 March, with suspects facing potential charges of misconduct in public office and causing loss to the public purse.
🚔 Thirteen Arrested in Late-Night Raid on Marmaris Municipality Over Bribery and Planning Irregularities
Police carried out a late-night operation at Marmaris Municipality in Muğla, detaining 13 people including a deputy mayor and several department heads on suspicion of accepting bribes and manipulating building permit and occupancy licence procedures for hotels, restaurants, and businesses. One planning department official was caught red-handed accepting 4,000 dollars in a bribe during the operation, which was coordinated by the Marmaris public prosecutor’s office and involved simultaneous searches of suspects’ homes, workplaces, and municipal offices. Those detained include deputy mayor Ö.H., planning director İ.P., several engineers, the acting municipal enforcement officer, a local muhtar, a contractor, an accountant, and two other council employees. Marmaris Mayor Acar Ünlü addressed reporters outside the municipal building, saying the council would continue its work and expressing hope that the investigation would conclude swiftly.
🚔 26 More Detained in Dawn Raids Over Alleged PKK Propaganda at Istanbul Nowruz Celebrations
Istanbul police have detained a further 26 people in early morning raids on pre-identified addresses, in connection with alleged PKK/KCK propaganda during Nowruz celebrations in the city. Intelligence and counter-terrorism units seized blank-firing pistols, organisational flags, and digital materials during the operations. The detainees have been taken to police headquarters for processing.
💥 IED Explodes Near Unmarked Police Car in Diyarbakır With No Casualties — Motorbike Rider Seen Leaving Device
An improvised explosive device detonated near an unmarked police vehicle at the junction of Kamışlo Boulevard and Nevruz Street in Diyarbakır on 26 March at 18:34, causing no casualties and no damage to the vehicle. The Diyarbakır Governorate said camera footage showed a motorcyclist leaving a bag containing the device at the roadside at 18:21, with the explosion occurring approximately twelve minutes later as the police car passed over it. The governorate noted that the device had no remote detonation mechanism and that there is currently no evidence establishing that the police vehicle was the specific intended target, as other vehicles had also used the same route in the intervening period. A wide-ranging investigation has been launched by the public prosecutor’s office to identify and apprehend the suspect or suspects.
Politics
🇵🇸 Foreign Minister Fidan Meets Palestine Support Platform and Aid Organisations in Istanbul
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has met representatives of the Palestine Support Platform and civil society organisations carrying out humanitarian aid activities in Istanbul. The talks covered humanitarian assistance reaching Palestine, the latest situation on the ground, and coordination processes between the various parties involved.
⚖️ Erdoğan Appoints Şaban Kazdal to Constitutional Court From Shortlist of Three Court of Cassation Judges
President Erdoğan has appointed Court of Cassation judge Şaban Kazdal to the Constitutional Court, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette. Kazdal was the third-placed candidate in a vote of 317 Court of Cassation members, receiving 44 votes against 48 for Mustafa Karayıldız and 45 for Oğuz Dik, with all three names forwarded to the presidency as required by procedure. Erdoğan selected Kazdal from the shortlist, and he will serve a twelve-year term on the court.
TBMM
🌾 Parliament Committee Approves Bill Tightening Alcohol Advertising Rules, Raising HES Penalties and Updating Rice Farming Distances
A legislative package approved by a parliamentary committee introduces a broad set of changes to Turkish agricultural and environmental regulations. On alcohol, the bill bans producers, importers, and distributors of alcoholic beverages from sponsoring any event or media content using their trade names, brands, logos, or associated symbols, and prohibits the display of such branding inside or outside retail premises or at any venue; businesses will have one year to comply and three months to withdraw non-compliant products from sale. Enforcement of the existing night-time retail alcohol sales ban — currently running from 10pm to 6am — will be decentralised from the Tobacco and Alcohol Authority to local district governorates. On hydroelectric power, companies operating HES facilities that fail to follow state water authority DSİ’s operational instructions or address safety deficiencies after being warned face fines of between 250,000 and 5 million lira scaled to installed capacity, with penalties doubling if violations recur within a year and water usage agreements terminated if companies remain non-compliant after extended grace periods. The bill also updates the 1936-era Rice Cultivation Law to set new minimum distances between paddy fields and settlements — 500 metres from city and district centres and 50 metres from villages — and extends tax exemptions and legal fee waivers to Atatürk Forest Farm properties whilst writing off outstanding property tax debts owed by the farm.
📋 Crypto Articles Stripped From Turkey’s Omnibus Economic Bill as Parliament Ends Tax Breaks for Foundation University Hospitals
Turkey’s Grand National Assembly has approved the first ten articles of an omnibus economic bill, but not before four clauses relating to cryptocurrency assets were removed from the text by amendment during the plenary session. Among the measures that did pass, gambling and betting advertising expenditure will no longer be deductible as a business expense for income tax purposes. Foundation university hospitals will lose their corporate tax exemption from 1 January 2027, and their VAT exemption has been removed with immediate effect — a significant change for Turkey’s private university-linked health sector. The president has been granted authority to adjust the state’s one per cent contribution to the unemployment insurance fund by up to half in either direction. A new mechanism has also been established to resolve BOTAŞ’s accumulated tax and penalty debts by offsetting them against the state energy company’s outstanding receivables from the Treasury, with the Finance Minister given authority to determine the amounts and execute the write-offs. Parliament adjourned after completing the first section of the bill and will reconvene on Tuesday 31 March to continue debate.
🏛️ Parliament Erupts Over ‘Gender Equality’ as AKP Votes Down DEM Motion on Media Violence
A DEM Party proposal to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the harmful effects of violent media content was voted down by AKP and MHP in the Grand National Assembly, but not before it triggered one of the parliament’s sharpest recent exchanges over gender and identity. DEM MP Sevilay Çelenk argued that media narratives glorifying violence shape cultural attitudes over the long term, pointing to the prevalence of mafia-style scenes in popular drama series. AKP MP Büşra Paker rejected the motion on the grounds that its repeated use of the term “gender equality” was cover for introducing what she called confusing LGBT terminology into Turkish law, adding that the party would not allow what she described as “third and fifth genders” to take hold in society. AKP group deputy chairman Abdulhamit Gül went further, calling for a constitutional amendment enshrining that people are born either male or female and that no other category would be recognised — a position, he said, that is both the party’s duty and the public’s expectation. DEM group deputy chairwoman Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit responded that gender equality is a universal concept referring to women’s freedom from economic, political, and social discrimination, and that the ruling party’s exclusionary framing itself contributes to a culture of violence. The session’s most inflammatory remark came when Paker was recorded in the official minutes saying to DEM members: “We finished our struggle against those in the mountains, and thank God we rescued women from your hands and from the mountains.”
Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)
🕊️ Erdoğan Warns Peace Process Will ‘Get Infected’ If It Drags On, as Party Sources Say Field Reports Are Now the Key
President Erdoğan has privately warned his inner circle that the “Terror-Free Turkey” peace process must not be allowed to stall, reportedly telling advisers that despite the ongoing Middle East war the process must not be delayed, and that “if it drags on, it will get infected.” According to AKP circles, the president remains confident the process will succeed but is pressing for momentum to be maintained. The remarks contrast somewhat with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s more measured public tone — he told his own party group that there is no point in rushing the process and that it will proceed step by step — though both leaders remain publicly committed to the outcome. AKP sources say critical thresholds have now been passed and attention has shifted to awaiting field reports on weapons handovers and the evacuation of mountain hideouts, with MIT and the Defence Ministry monitoring developments closely; legal steps could follow swiftly once those reports are reviewed by the National Security Council. The party is also said to be conducting a parallel economic impact study, canvassing 1,300 institutions across 26 regions, with early findings suggesting that a successful conclusion to the process would translate into significant gains in production and employment.
🕊️ DEM Spokeswoman Backs Pace Over Panic on Peace Process, as Party Delegation Heads to İmralı to Meet Öcalan
DEM Party spokeswoman Ayşegül Doğan has responded to MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s call not to rush the peace process by drawing a distinction between panic and pace, saying regional developments and risks have demonstrated why speed is necessary — and that if time is not used wisely, risks will emerge and provocations may follow. Doğan called on parliamentary speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to publicly share a legislative timetable for the legal framework as soon as possible after Eid, warning that without a clear schedule, rumours pointing to June or July will fill the vacuum — a timeline she described as far too late given that nearly a year has passed since PKK’s dissolution congress and weapons destruction. She also delivered a lengthy criticism of Nowruz detentions, citing cases where a banner reading only “freedom and democracy” was removed by police, a 16-year-old musician was arrested for singing Kurdish songs, a person was stopped at an event for wearing a yellow-red-green cardigan, and DEM co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan’s delegation was searched at the Van Nowruz venue. Doğan said the contradiction of security forces prosecuting propaganda for an organisation that has declared itself dissolved must be resolved, and questioned how Öcalan’s poster can be banned from public squares whilst he is simultaneously a central interlocutor in state-level negotiations. She closed by announcing that the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation will visit Öcalan on the island tomorrow for talks covering both the legal framework for disarmament and the question of Öcalan’s detention conditions and status.
Opposition Parties (CHP and others)
📣 CHP to Hold Its 100th Rally in Çanakkale on Saturday as Protest Campaign Reaches Landmark
CHP’s rolling series of “The Nation Stands by Its Will” rallies, launched in response to the detention of Istanbul Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, will reach its 100th event in Çanakkale’s Cumhuriyet Square on Saturday 28 March at 13:30. The party marked the milestone on social media with a declaration that those who thought CHP would give up, submit, or be left alone had been proven wrong, and vowed to continue until İmamoğlu and all political detainees are freed and justice and prosperity restored to the country.
Thanks for reading this far, I will see you tomorrow. ☕