Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Although there has been no official statement from the Istanbul Governorship confirming the cancellation of a concert by producer Anyma in Istanbul, pro-government outlets reported that the show had been canceled after it was dubbed a 'satanist ritual.'
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been behind bars since March 2025, and his co-defendants are increasingly pessimistic about the outcome of the hearings in the Istanbul Municipality trial.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s jailed mayor, announced his resignation from the CHP and his decision to support the Yeni Party three weeks after its founding.
Every summer, the apartment buildings of Istanbul, Ankara and other major cities begin to empty. Neighbors who have spent the winter sharing lifts, parking disputes, delivery couriers and the occasional suspicion that someone upstairs is moving furniture after midnight head off in different directions.
The opposition's advantage in Istanbul's Municipal Council is decreasing while the ruling AKP and MHP are increasing their numbers.
In a surprising development, police have detained prominent pro-government journalist Cem Küçük in Istanbul, soon after he parted ways with İhlas Media Group.
Suffering from a loss of competitiveness due to the weak lira and high inflation, the head of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB) has requested a three-year support program to save the ready-to-wear sector.
Foreign investors' confidence in Turkish equities is under mounting pressure as two of the world's leading index providers signaled Istanbul's stock market could face a downgrade. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) issued another warning regarding investment accessibility and shareholder transparency, announcing it may re-evaluate free-float structures on a company-by-company basis and reclassify certain shareholders as 'non-free float' to address distorted calculations driven by coordinated fund actions.
The four-month-long first session of the Istanbul Municipality trial ended on July 8 without the testimony of its main defendant: Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed Istanbul mayor and ousted CHP administration's presidential candidate, who is accused of being the leader of an alleged criminal organization.
In the latest hearing of the Istanbul Municipality corruption trial on July 7, jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was not brought to the courtroom, and detentions of dissident journalists continued in Istanbul while the capital Ankara began hosting the NATO Summit.
Turkish authorities detained popular comedian Deniz Göktaş, 32, at an Istanbul airport following an intense wave of public targeting from pro-government figures over his viral stand-up special.
The presiding judge insisted on concluding the first hearing of the Istanbul corruption trial on July 9, thereby restricting the right to defense in the Istanbul corruption trial for the first time in the four months since it began.