Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
'Trees die standing.' That is the title of a play that has been staged in our theaters for many years. Müjdat Gezen is 83 years old and has been a performer for more than 60 years. Not just on stage — also a film actor and television personality. He has spent most of his life, in a sense, broadcasting live. His life is, in fact, a summary of Turkey's most turbulent era.
In a historic development for Turkish-American relations, the long-standing legal battle over Iran sanctions involving the Turkish state lender Halkbank has been settled. The U.S. government said the result will curb support for Iran.
A symbolic protest emerged after images circulated on social media showing the cut hair of a woman allegedly killed in Syria, in areas formerly under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The images sparked a wave of solidarity in Turkey, where activists, health workers, and even a football club adopted hair-braiding as a form of protest—prompting legal and political repercussions.
One would expect the bromance between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to reach new heights following the former’s recent disavowal of the PKK/YPG.
Former İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer and former İZBETON General Manager Heval Savaş Kaya were ordered released at the fourth hearing of the case involving allegations of corruption by subcontractors at İZBETON AŞ, a subsidiary of the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.
Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the HDP, has been sentenced to one year, five months and 15 days in prison over speeches he delivered in 2015–2016 despite a final and binding European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling calling for his release.
As the CHP prepares for its 39th Ordinary Congress, the party dissidents escalated their challenge to the leadership of Özgür Özel. Former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,76, lit the fire by calling on Özel to take disciplinary action against people named in the corruption indictment involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
A new case has been opened against former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş on charges of insulting the president, days after the European Court of Human Rights upheld its ruling that he should be released.
Jailed former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş rejected remarks by former Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç suggesting Demirtaş wished to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and tell him he held no resentment. After a visit to Edirne Prison, Arınç said Demirtaş wanted to tell Erdoğan, “I hold no grudge against you.” Demirtaş responded with a handwritten note, saying he never expressed such a thought. “What troubles me most is being associated with words and ideas I never hinted at,” he wrote.
You may ask, “Meral Akşener? Where did that come from?” It’s been a year and a half since she bid farewell to both the İYİ Party leadership and active politics. She has remained completely silent since. Yet, in recent days, an unexpected Akşener debate has been simmering—not in the headlines, but in İYİ Party circles. The discussion did not start with her; she has kept her silence. But when Esma Bekar—Akşener’s former chief of staff and perhaps the person closest to her—posted a message, the question suddenly arose: “Is Akşener returning?”
As expectations grow for the release of former HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, former HDP MPs Semra Güzel and Hüda Kaya have been released, taking into account the length of their detention.
Serdar Öktem, a lawyer and a key defendant in the murder case of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş, was shot by masked assailants armed with long-barreled weapons in Istanbul traffic. Öktem died in hospital Oct. 6 from his injuries. Initial findings suggest the attack was carried out by the criminal group known as the Daltons.