Justice System and Everyday Life in Türkiye
🚧 Road Closures and Lane Restrictions Across Turkey
Turkey’s General Directorate of Highways has issued its latest road conditions bulletin, with several routes affected by construction and maintenance works. On the Aydın-Denizli motorway, the emergency lane and right-hand lane between kilometres 2 and 5 in the Denizli direction are closed due to slope stabilisation works. On the Ankara-Kırıkkale-Delice road, the right lane between kilometres 32 and 33 is closed towards Kırıkkale-Samsun. The Silifke-Mersin road between kilometres 21 and 22 has controlled-flow traffic due to the Çeşmeli-Erdemli-Silifke-Taşucu motorway project. The Korkuteli northern bypass, the Kayseri-Pınarbaşı road between kilometres 23 and 24, and the Fatsa-Ordu-Gülyalı road between kilometres 16 and 22 are all operating with two-way traffic on a single carriageway. Single-lane operation is in place on the Diyarbakır-Silvan-Bingöl road between kilometres 71 and 73, the Beyşehir-Derebucak road between kilometres 3 and 61, and the Trabzon-Maçka-Gümüşhane road at kilometre 43 where drainage maintenance is under way in the Yeni Zigana Tunnel. Drivers are advised to follow traffic signs and proceed with caution in all affected areas.
🎰 Illegal Betting Suspect Fedlan Kılıçaslan Caught in Spain as Extradition Process Begins
Fedlan Kılıçaslan, a key suspect in an Istanbul prosecutor’s illegal betting investigation who had been subject to a Red Notice, has been apprehended in Spain through international cooperation. Kılıçaslan faces charges of running a criminal organisation and operating illegal betting through internet sites, and his movable and immovable assets, company shares, bank accounts, and cryptocurrency holdings had previously been seized. The prosecutor’s office has confirmed that an extradition request has been prepared and that the process is being closely monitored, with the handover expected to gather pace in the coming days.
👮 On Its 181st Anniversary, Turkey’s Police Force Battles Overwork, Poverty Pay and a Suicide Crisis — With Parliament Refusing to Investigate
As Turkey’s national police force marks its 181st anniversary today, a detailed portrait by journalist Tolga Şardan reveals an institution in chronic distress, with the same unresolved grievances recurring decade after decade. Officers are demanding that the existing 12-on-36-off shift system be enshrined in law, that they receive additional pay for policing sports events, rallies, and concerts, that overtime beyond 160 hours monthly be legally compensated, that the current 6,800 lira overtime supplement be raised to 30,000 lira, and that broader professional rights under the Police Career Law be improved. Last week the opposition proposed a parliamentary commission to investigate police conditions — the motion was defeated by AKP and MHP votes. A particular focus of the piece is the suicide of counter-terrorism officer Birson Ergene, who had been serving in the department responsible for monitoring ISIS and was part of the team handling the Yalova ISIS confrontation case. According to reports that circulated publicly, Ergene passed the written stage of a competitive exam for an overseas posting — which would have carried a diplomatic passport and helped him manage personal debt — but failed the oral stage, allegedly because he lacked the right connections. The directorate made no comment. Şardan also reveals that during the previous interior minister’s tenure, personnel flagged as problematic by a secret informant source were nevertheless sent abroad on posting after pressure was applied to override objections from the ministry and the directorate, with the relevant decree delayed before eventually being signed.
🏚️ Mice Gnawing Drug Evidence, Gold Stored With Meat: Justice Ministry Inspection Reveals Chaotic State of Turkey’s Court Evidence Warehouses
An inspection by the Justice Ministry’s Disciplinary Board has uncovered serious failings at court evidence storage bureaux across Turkey, with findings that include drug packaging gnawed by mice, cash and criminal exhibits going unregistered, and nearly 20 kilograms of gold bullion stored in the same facilities as meat, dairy products, timber, textiles, furniture, and even a boat. Cash seized as evidence was found not to have been logged in safes, whilst firearms, knives, promissory notes, and ammunition at one facility had not been entered into the criminal exhibits register at all. Doors and windows were found to be insufficiently secure, ventilation inadequate, damp present, fire precautions lacking, and camera systems absent. Year-end stock counts were not being conducted to verify that physical holdings matched records, and some exhibits were being stored outside the warehouses in the open air. Contraband cigarettes, alcohol, electronics, and vehicles had not been handed over to customs authorities, no dedicated safe existed for valuables, and the existing safe was operated by a single person. Items sent to courts or officials had gone untraced for long periods, and large quantities of property from previous years remained in storage. The report was obtained by detained BirGün journalist İsmail Arı and published from Sincan Prison.
⚖️ Case Backlogs Fall at Turkish Higher Courts as Clearance Rates Rise
Turkey’s higher courts have seen measurable improvements in case processing times and backlog clearance, according to Justice Ministry sources. Average case duration at regional administrative courts fell from 136 days in 2024 to 111 days in 2025, whilst at the Court of Cassation’s prosecutor’s office the figure dropped from 96 to 65 days. The number of new files opened at the Court of Cassation prosecutor’s office has fallen dramatically over a longer period, from 402,671 in 2016 to 156,469 in 2025, with files at the court’s general assemblies and chambers falling from 806,488 to 253,571 over the same period. Administrative court clearance rates rose from 100 per cent in 2024 to 108.1 per cent in 2025, reaching 122.9 per cent for immigration and international protection cases and 160 per cent for disaster-related cases. Looking ahead, the next judicial reform package is expected to prioritise the acceleration of contested divorce proceedings, with wider use of mediation and conciliation planned to speed up what are currently among the longest-running civil cases in the system.
⚖️ ‘The Real Brain Behind This Organisation Is Former Deputy Police Chief Alp Aslan’ — Prosecutor Who Arrested Kaplan Tells Court
The retrial of the Ayhan Bora Kaplan organised crime case produced explosive testimony from former Ankara deputy police chief Murat Çelik, who used his defence statement to accuse a former colleague — former Ankara deputy police chief Alp Aslan — of being the “upper mind” behind the organisation, and to allege that the gang had penetrated the judiciary, with suspicions of cooperation between Kaplan’s network and prosecutors and judges who would rule on his case. Çelik told the court that recent news reports show a car was bought for the chief prosecutor, asking rhetorically how police are supposed to fight such an organisation. He said the true leader of the network is not Kaplan but more powerful figures who have infiltrated politics, and named Alp Aslan specifically. Çelik also described spending 113 days in prison following the gang’s frame-up operation against him, suffering a heart attack after his release requiring three stents, and his son being threatened. He said the WhatsApp phone discovered at his lawyer’s office — delivered anonymously — was examined by his team for two weeks before being voluntarily handed to prosecutors, and that the messages it contains represent only ten per cent of the crimes this organisation has committed. Separately, multiple defendants and their lawyers complained that they have been denied access to digital evidence files and requested additional time to prepare defences, with the court rejecting all such applications. Kaplan himself told the court the indictment is “rubbish” and that his defence rights are being violated by the refusal to provide digital materials.
Politics
🤝 Turkey Allocates 23 Billion Lira to Northern Cyprus Under 2026 Economic and Financial Cooperation Agreement
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has signed the 2026 Economic and Financial Cooperation Agreement with Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Ünal Üstel at the Presidential Palace, allocating approximately 23 billion lira in total resources, of which 21 billion lira is new appropriation. Of the total budget, 48 per cent is directed towards infrastructure and real sector projects, 42 per cent to defence expenditure, and 10 per cent to public finance support. Yılmaz noted that the 2025 agreement’s utilisation rate is approaching a historic record of around 89 per cent of the allocated 21 billion lira, with the final tranche to be transferred during April, and reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to continuing its responsibilities towards the Turkish Cypriot people’s freedom and prosperity.
🏛️ Istanbul to Host 2,420 Delegates From 157 Countries as Parliamentary Speaker Kurtulmuş Declares Era of Parliamentary Diplomacy Has Arrived
Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has announced that the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be held in Istanbul from 15 to 19 April, with 857 MPs, 86 parliamentary speakers, 56 deputy speakers, 169 international organisation representatives, and 146 parliamentary secretaries-general attending from 157 countries — a total of 2,420 participants that Kurtulmuş described as one of the highest attendance figures he has witnessed. The assembly’s theme is fostering hope, securing peace, and ensuring justice for future generations, with more than 80 events planned including plenary sessions, standing committee meetings, forums, and thematic gatherings. Kurtulmuş said the meeting comes 30 years after Turkey last hosted the assembly and that Istanbul’s role as a city where civilisations have coexisted gives it special significance for an event focused on global peace. On the by-election debate, he noted that any by-election requires a decision by the full parliament and that the speakership has no initiative in the matter. On the Kurdish peace process, he said the work will not be left unfinished, that PKK must completely demonstrate its dissolution and hand over all weapons, and that the necessary legal steps identified in the commission report must follow — adding that his own responsibility as speaker is already being fulfilled and will continue to be.
👮 Interior Minister Marks Turkish Police Force’s 181st Anniversary
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has congratulated the Turkish Police Force on its 181st anniversary, saying officers carry the honour of the flag, the strength of the state, and the prayers of the nation on their shoulders with every step they take and every shift they stand. Çiftçi paid tribute to officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and expressed gratitude to veterans, wishing all serving officers success and safe duty in the year ahead.
🕊️ Fidan Warns Two-Week Iran Ceasefire May Not Be Enough — and Blames Israel for Immediate Sabotage
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has cautioned that the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran may prove insufficient for the complexity of the issues on the table, telling a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Shaibani in Ankara that the parties should be prepared to extend it by mutual agreement if negotiations require more time. Fidan said the ceasefire had barely been announced before Israel carried out its largest aerial operation against Lebanon to date, killing large numbers of civilians — describing it as the spoiler role he had anticipated Israel would play, and warning that regional peace cannot come whilst Israeli expansionism continues. On the substance of the negotiations, he noted that nuclear enrichment remains a sticking point even on issues where prior understanding had been reached, and that new agenda items have emerged including the future of Hürmüz Strait navigation and energy security — the negative effects of which the whole world has felt over the past month. Fidan called on all parties to act constructively and resist Israeli provocations with clear heads, and said Turkey has a regional vision developed over the past year and a half under Erdoğan’s leadership that it is communicating to all sides. He also expressed satisfaction that Syrian President Sharaa will attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on 17-19 April.
Ruling Government (AKP, MHP and DEM coalition aka People’s Alliance)
🌏 MHP Sets Russia-China Alignment as Price of Coalition With AKP in 2028 Elections
MHP deputy leader İlyas Topsakal has told Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper that his party’s condition for continuing its electoral alliance with AKP in 2028 is not ministerial portfolios but the adoption of a programme oriented towards cooperation with Russia and China. Topsakal said he travelled to Moscow on Devlet Bahçeli’s instructions, holding meetings with political parties, bureaucrats, and intellectuals, and that the rapprochement he envisions between Turkey, Russia, and China is critical not only economically but from a security perspective — arguing that Turkey needs to turn towards alternative partnerships at a time of shifting global balances. Vedomosti framed the visit as a signal that Turkey’s foreign policy direction may be in flux, noting that MHP has been increasingly vocal in advocating closer ties with Moscow and Beijing and that Topsakal’s March visit carries new messages about Ankara’s external policy calculations.
📊 Children of University-Educated Parents Are 32 Times More Likely to Study Medicine in Turkey, Research Finds
A doctoral study examining intergenerational social mobility across 66,000 people in Turkey has found that despite the country’s rapid university expansion — with more than 200 institutions now operating — educational inequality has remained largely unchanged across generations. The most striking finding concerns prestigious programmes: children whose parents hold university degrees are 32 times more likely to gain places in medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, and 13 times more likely to study law, compared with children from families with only secondary education. The research, conducted at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University using combined data from TÜİK and the Higher Education Council, found that sons of low-educated parents tend to cluster in teaching programmes, sons of middle-educated parents in engineering, and daughters of middle-educated parents in teaching, nursing, and midwifery — with gender-based programme segregation remaining pronounced. Among younger cohorts aged 18 to 34, some evidence of downward class mobility was found, with the expected upward shift failing to materialise even among those from middle-class backgrounds. The study concludes that demand for higher education in Turkey has been driven more by state policy than by genuine bottom-up social aspiration, and that university expansion alone has not been sufficient to increase social mobility — a finding consistent with international research from the UK, the US, Latin America, and elsewhere showing that parental background continues to be the dominant determinant of educational and occupational outcomes.
🗳️ By-Election Is a Political Dead End — And the General Election Is 18 Months Away
Political analyst Muharrem Sarıkaya argues that CHP leader Özgür Özel’s by-election push faces insurmountable obstacles, both constitutional and political. Under Article 84 of the constitution, MP resignations must be approved by a plenary majority of 301 votes, and a by-election cannot be triggered unless at least 30 seats fall vacant. Even if every opposition party including MHP supported the move, their combined total reaches only 295 — short of the threshold without AKP. Erdoğan has already made his position clear, saying neither early nor by-elections feature in the government’s near-term plans, whilst AKP sources say the party will refuse to accept any resignation submissions that come its way. MHP’s internal turmoil over the Istanbul organisation dissolution has not softened its stance — Bahçeli did not even mention the by-election at his group meeting, preferring to accuse CHP of narrow self-interest. DEM Party offered no firm commitment either way to Özel when the two met. A constitutional law expert consulted by Sarıkaya also disputes Özel’s argument that the eight currently vacant seats alone are sufficient to trigger a by-election without further resignations, citing both the 30-seat threshold and the fact that the relevant constitutional article has not been updated since the 2017 shift to a presidential system. Sarıkaya’s conclusion: the real electoral target is November 2027, the date Erdoğan needs in order to stand again for the presidency, with a possible earlier pull to June 2027 if economic conditions favour the ruling coalition — both dates being far beyond the reach of any by-election gambit.
Opposition Parties (CHP and others)
🚔 Two More Municipalities Hit by Dawn Raids as Mersin and Bolu Operations Net Around 30 Suspects
Two separate corruption operations targeted CHP-run municipalities on Thursday morning. In Mersin, police coordinated by the public prosecutor’s office raided CHP’s Yenişehir Municipality on bribery, bid-rigging, and extortion allegations, searching the municipal building and issuing detention orders for approximately 30 people including deputy mayors, department heads, and company officials, with arrests still under way. In Bolu, the ongoing BOLSEV Foundation extortion investigation claimed two new detainees — deputy mayor Leyla Beykoz and council member Aydan Özdemir — continuing the judicial process that began with the arrest and suspension of Mayor Tanju Özcan.
⚖️ Bornova Mayor and Three Others Released After Ghost Employee Investigation
Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki and three other suspects detained in the ghost employee investigation have been released by an İzmir court after the duty magistrate declined to remand them in custody. The four — including a call centre employee registered with the social security system but allegedly not working, a human resources director, and a press relations acting director — had their police processing completed before being sent to İzmir courthouse and subsequently freed.
⚖️ 21 Suspects in Üsküdar Building Permit Bribery Case Sent to Court
The 21 people detained in the Üsküdar Municipality building and occupancy permit bribery operation — including deputy mayor Filiz Deveci and Kent AŞ general manager N.A. — have been sent to court this morning following the completion of police processing. The operation, carried out by Istanbul Anadolu prosecutor’s special investigations bureau and financial crimes unit across 30 addresses in Istanbul and Yalova, targeted an alleged colour-coded bribery system in which permit approvals were determined by whether contractors had paid bribes rather than by regulatory compliance.
Economy
⛽ TPAO’s Tekirdağ Exploration Licence Extended to 2028 Following Natural Gas Discovery
Turkey’s state oil company TPAO has had its exploration licence for a 14,537-hectare onshore site in Tekirdağ extended to 6 June 2028, following a natural gas discovery in the area. The extension was approved by the Energy Ministry’s Mining and Petroleum Affairs Directorate and published in the Official Gazette.
📡 Türk Telekom Board Shake-Up as Former Communications Minister Sayan Departs
Türk Telekom has announced significant changes to its board of directors at its 2025 annual general meeting, with deputy board chairman Ömer Fatih Sayan and board member Selim Dursun both stepping down. CEO Ebubekir Şahin, who was re-elected to the board, thanked both departing members for their service. Sayan — a former Minister of Information and Communication Technologies — said he had completed his role at Türk Telekom after serving on the board since 2018 in various capacities including chairman and deputy chairman, and that throughout his tenure the company had been guided by Erdoğan’s National Technology Initiative and Turkey’s Century vision.
Thanks for reading this far, I will see you tomorrow. ☕