Editorial Team

The detention of two lawyers in the same Istanbul Municipality corruption file has highlighted different approaches within the judiciary.

A DEM Party delegation traveled to İmralı Island on Aug. 28 to meet with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, the first visit since Parliament formed the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission.

The parliamentary National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission held two tense meetings this week, first hearing from Turkey’s bar associations and then from former parliamentary speakers.The MPs on the commission, who had so far avoided direct confrontation, engaged in their first open war of words after bar leaders gave long speeches stressing constitutional rights and the rule of law.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkey does not act with hostility unless it faces hostility, stressing that Ankara will not step back if targeted. Commenting on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent statement that “if the sword leaves the sheath, there is no need for words,” Fidan said Turkey will not wait for a threat to materialize across its borders. “We do not threaten unless threatened. If we are faced with hostility, we will not retreat,” he said.

Turkey’s parliament will meet in an extraordinary session on Aug. 29 to discuss Israel’s offensive in Gaza and steps to deliver humanitarian aid.

Turkey Bar Association (TBB) President Erinç Sağkan told parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission that no political or legal issue in Turkey can be resolved without respect for the constitution.

İsmet Sayhan, former president of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and a close associate of MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, has been arrested.

The DEM Party delegation will visit Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK founder, on İmralı Island on Aug. 28, following weeks of criticism over limited access.

Nusret Yılmaz, one of the attorneys representing jailed Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and his wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, has been released under judicial control measures.

The corruption probe into Istanbul and other CHP-run municipalities has taken a new turn, extending beyond politicians, lawyers, mobsters, and journalists to include a hitman. The alleged hitman is said to have acted on the instructions of Selahattin Yılmaz, a figure backed by MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli. The latest detentions targeted several lawyers and legal experts, whose ultra-luxurious offices and lavish lifestyles raised questions, with images suggesting close links to the government.