Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
To get off the streets in the winter time and have access to food, a homeless man in the Mediterranean resort Alanya insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since he had nowhere to live. The court sent him to prison as he wanted, reportedly not for the first time, while thousands of people try to escape from similar legal cases.
A court has ordered the main opposition Chair Özgür Özel to pay damages to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek in a ruling that did little to clarify how many properties the minister actually owns.
Muğla and Manisa mayors denied switching to the AKP as operations against CHP and Yeni Party municipalities continued and courts delivered a string of rulings.
The Constitutional Court ended discussions about the Yeni Party’s name, but headquarters-backed candidates keep winning in the districts and provinces despite the promises to end the old CHP habit of central control.
The day jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was to begin his defense in the Istanbul Municipality trial for the first time since his arrest 19 months ago, a court-appointed trustee cut the live broadcast of the Halk TV, one of his staunchest supporters in the media.
Scores of journalists, activists, and politicians gathered outside the Constitutional Court Oct. 7 to protest censorship of social media accounts.
The court released four defendants, while informants who testified under effective remorse provisions refused to answer most questions from defense lawyers during cross-examination, claiming their previous testimonies were based on hearsay.
An Istanbul court ordered the continued detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, campaign director Necati Özkan, journalist Merdan Yanardağ, and businessperson Hüseyin Gün during the latest hearing in their political espionage trial.
Ali Şekeroğlu, 60, took his own life outside the Constitutional Court while demanding a pay raise for retirees on Sept. 25. Şekeroğlu died by suicide with his own weapon.
The global umbrella of social democratic parties, Socialist International, suspended the CHP under its court-appointed leadership and admitted Özgür Özel's Yeni Party as a full member.
The Constitutional Court will consider on Sept. 29 a request to annul the name of Yeni Party and remove it from the registry of political parties.
The main Istanbul Municipality corruption trial completed its 87th day on Sept. 24. The court heard nine more defendants, leaving 63 of 325 still to testify, as the presiding judge aims to complete the second session by the end of September.