MINERS RETURN TO ANKARA OVER UNMET PROMISES
Protesting coal miners from Doruk Madencilik have returned to the capital after a government-backed deal to pay their overdue wages failed.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A BIRTHDAY IN THE DOCK
The Istanbul corruption trial completed its 12th week as plaintiffs continued to withdraw their previous statements and jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu celebrated his 55th birthday at the courtroom.
İMAMOĞLU'S DETAINED LAWYER PEHLİVAN CHALLENGES COURT
Mehmet Pehlivan, the detained lawyer for jailed Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, drew parallels between their cases and political trials in Brazil in testimony that electrified a courtroom packed with lawyers in Silivri.
İMAMOĞLU TO THE COURT: "THE ONLY CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION HERE IS THE PROSECUTION"
The Istanbul Municipality corruption trial reached its 19th hearing session this week, bringing some of the most dramatic courtroom scenes since proceedings began. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the CHP's presidential candidate and Istanbul's jailed mayor, set the tone for the week. Describing the indictment as "not just garbage but rotten garbage rotting inside garbage," he told the court the case had already collapsed at its foundations: "If the alleged leader of the organization does not even know the alleged members, the whole thing collapses from the start."
INVESTIGATION INTO CELEBRITIES EXPANDS TO İMAMOĞLU AND ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY
An investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged drug use and prostitution involving celebrities has widened to include Istanbul Municipality and its jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, following media reports referring to secret hotel rooms, gambling, private parties and jet travel.
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?
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.
DEADLOCK OVER COMMISSION’S VISIT TO ÖCALAN CONTINUES
The parliamentary commission formed to pave the way for a new Kurdish peace process remains stuck over whether its members should visit jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. A planned session of the commission has been postponed once again, even as hopes rise for the release of imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş following a third ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
DEFECTIONS, CONFESSIONS AND NOW CLOSURE: THE CHP'S MOUNTING TROUBLES
The CHP is facing an unprecedented convergence of crises one after the other. Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal has defected to the AKP. Jailed Uşak Mayor Özkan Yalım and Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek have applied for the effective remorse law, alleging they paid CHP Chair Özgür Özel and his close ally MP Veli Ağbaba in exchange for nomination in the municipal elections. The allegations have raised the spectre of closure proceedings against the party — with Özel increasingly in the crosshairs.
BAHÇELİ DRAWS THE MAP, ERDOĞAN HOLDS THE WHEEL
Ahead of the AKP’s inaction, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has outlined a detailed institutional framework to advance the peace process, urging all three branches of government to take concrete steps — while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his government's determination to see it through without giving up caution.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ISSUES SECOND VIOLATION RULING FOR GEZİ DEFENDANT KAHRAMAN
Although its initial decision was overlooked by a local court, the Constitutional Court once again ruled a violation since its ruling was not applied for the jailed city planner Tayfun Kahraman, finding that its earlier decision had not been implemented.
İMAMOĞLU RAISES FIRST OBJECTION TO ANOTHER CANDIDATE
Jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has for the first time objected to the possibility of another person becoming the opposition’s presidential candidate.