Analysis – Turkey In Depth – Smart, informed focus on the stories that matter

Deep Dive May 29, 2026

CHP MAYORS FACE COURT AS WIDE-RANGING CORRUPTION TRIAL STARTS

Hearings have begun in a corruption probe involving municipalities run by the main opposition CHP, following investigations launched in March 2025. The case marks the first major trial stemming from the allegations, ahead of a separate prosecution involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu that is set to begin on March 9. The CHP’s legal strategy and the court’s approach to the defendants are expected to shape Turkey’s political agenda over the many years the trials are expected to take.

Editorial Team

Portrait of the Week May 29, 2026

HOW İMAMOĞLU SR’S COMMUNISM NIGHTMARE CAME TO PASS

Hasan İmamoğlu is the father of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been jailed for nearly nine months. Ekrem İmamoğlu faces a staggering threat of up to 2,500 years in prison. Naturally, the İmamoğlu family had never, at any point in their lives, imagined facing such severe threats of imprisonment and punishment. For this reason, the family is, quite naturally, experiencing deep shock and bewilderment. As part of the case, Hasan İmamoğlu’s companies were also seized. So where does this “fear of communism,” this urge to “fight communism,” actually come from?

Anonymous

Deep Dive May 29, 2026

CORRUPTION CLAIMS FADE AS INDICTMENT TARGETS POLITICAL GOALS

The indictment against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief rival, Ekrem İmamoğlu, not only accuses the jailed Istanbul mayor of corruption, but also targets the CHP, laying bare the political nature of the case. The charge sheet alleges that the CHP is being taken over by a criminal organization and on that basis prosecutors also notified the Court of Cassation that there may be grounds to close the main opposition party.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

NET TIGHTENS AROUND İMAMOĞLU IN FINANCIAL CRIMES INQUIRY

The pressure is mounting on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his party CHP, with investigations about the corruption allegations now extending to his immediate family and allied journalists, as CHP Chair Özgür Özel tries to challenge the government by divulging the misdoings of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

AFTER CORRUPTION CASES, ESPIONAGE CHARGES KEEP PRESSURE ON CHP

The brief respite after a court rejected a bid to unseat main opposition CHP Chair Özgür Özel and annul the party’s 2023 congress has now given way to a widening espionage probe. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his campaign director Necati Özkan were rearrested on espionage charges, while a trustee was appointed to TELE1 television channel and its editor-in-chief, Merdan Yanardağ, was also taken into custody on Oct. 24.

Editorial Team

Deep Dive May 29, 2026

ÖZEL FIRES BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS ON AKP ANNIVERSARY

CHP Chair Özgür Özel sparked a political storm by accusing a senior AKP figure of bribing a businessperson to testify against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The CHP leader also suggested that the AKP had used dirty tricks to push CHP Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu to transfer to the AKP on the 24th anniversary of the ruling party. Just two hours before the AKP’s celebrations, Özel said that former AKP Central Decision and Executive Board member and lawyer Mücahit Birinci asked imprisoned businessperson Murat Kapki to pay $2 million and promised his release in return for signing a false statement.

Editorial Team

Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy May 29, 2026

EUROFIGHTERS: A STOPGAP WITH STRINGS

The German government has dropped its veto on the sale of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Turkey, thanks to the requests of the Turkish opposition, claimed Özgür Özel, the head of the CHP. While Berlin has been dragging its feet on talks for the warplanes, which are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, a news report suggested in April that the German government had decided to keep blocking the sale due to the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19. While such a decision was never officially confirmed, İmamoğlu tweeted from his prison cell, objecting to the veto and Özel kept the issue on the agenda during talks with his German counterparts.

Editorial Team

Guest Voices May 29, 2026

MAY DAY CLAMPDOWN OVERSHADOWED BY ERDOĞAN’S ITALIAN CHARM OFFENSIVE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid a one-day official visit to Italy on April 29. He was received in Rome with pomp by his counterpart Sergio Matarella as well as Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. This was a visit of niceties on each side. To Erdoğan’s satisfaction, the Italians did not raise any political issues, especially those pertaining to his iron fist authoritarian rule and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu’s arrest.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

FULL-FLEDGED CRACKDOWN ON CHP CONTINUES

The financial crimes police raided Şile Municipality on July 10, detaining Mayor Özgür Kabadayı as part of the widening corruption investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities. It was yet another ordinary day for the main opposition, which has been facing near-daily legal turmoil since Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19. CHP Istanbul Chair Özgür Çelik said Kabadayı and several others were detained in house raids at 1:30 a.m. Arrest warrants were issued for at least six individuals, said the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey May 15, 2026

IMAMOĞLU SHUTTLES BETWEEN SILIVRI COURTROOMS

Ekrem İmamoğlu, the detained Istanbul mayor and the CHP's presidential candidate, shuttled between two courtrooms at the Silivri complex — and both hearings produced developments that cut against the prosecution's narrative.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey May 8, 2026

İMAMOĞLU BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS IN COURT

The 34th day of the corruption trial targeting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and dozens of officials linked to the CHP and Istanbul Municipality saw the mayor in tears as he questioned a defendant — soon after he declared that the allegations in the indictment were collapsing one by one.

Editorial Team

Inside Turkey Apr 17, 2026

DEFENDANTS CONTINUE CHALLENGING CORRUPTION INDICTMENT ON İMAMOĞLU CASE

The sixth week of the mass corruption trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 400 co-defendants produced some of its most dramatic courtroom exchanges. İmamoğlu and the presiding judge continued sharp exchanges while the municipality’s housing company, KİPTAŞ, chair Ali Kurt implicated senior government figures in a land scheme, and the European Court of Human Rights formally demanded answers from Ankara.

Editorial Team

In-Depth Analysis