NEW TAX AND INVESTMENT BILL SUBMITTED TO PARLIAMENT AMID SKEPTICISM OVER LEGAL SECURITY
The AKP submitted a 15-item proposal to parliament as it pushes ahead with incentives to lure foreign investment and cash repatriation.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
GOVERNMENT’S INVESTMENT INCENTIVES DRAW CRITICISM OVER LEGAL CONCERNS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a comprehensive investment incentive plan, aimed at making Turkey a 'global attraction center,' but the plan drew criticism over the lack of enforcement of existing laws.
ALL TALK, NO ACTION ON TURKEY'S KURDISH PEACE PROCESS
No legal steps have been taken despite calls across the spectrum for progress in the Kurdish peace process. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli both called for momentum, and the DEM Party co-chair Bakırhan turned the question back on the government: 'Who exactly are they talking to?'
PRESSURE ON CHP MUNICIPALITIES CONTINUES TO MOUNT
A series of legal operations targeting CHP-run municipalities intensified on April 9 as CHP Chair Özgür Özel repeated calls for a by-election.
DEM PUSHES FOR A NEW STATUS AND HOME FOR ÖCALAN
The DEM Party is pushing the government to take legal steps to clarify PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s status, including the allocation of a house on İmralı Island, yet the government is buying time without providing clarity on the transition law.
HALKBANK CASE SETTLED, FORMER EXECUTIVE SAYS ISRAEL PLAYED A ROLE
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.
KURDISH PROCESS AWAITS NEWROZ
After the completion of the Parliamentary Commission report on the Kurdish peace process, legal steps are expected to accelerate after the Ramadan holiday, which ends on March 22 and overlaps with Newroz, the spring festival seen as a symbol of Kurdish identity.
TWO CRITICAL MONTHS IN KURDISH PROCESS
Parliament will take up legislation in response to the PKK’s decision to dissolve and lay down its arms agenda after the Ramadan holiday. PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has called for the adoption of “peace laws” as a condition for transition. While the DEM Party insists that the legal framework should be adopted before the end of March, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pointed to April, saying he expects the PKK to take more concrete steps.
ADANA MAYOR FREED AS LEGAL CASES AGAINST CHP CONTINUE
Legal pressure on the main opposition CHP continued as allegations of drug use were expanded to include relatives of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s wife, while prosecutors finalized a separate “political espionage” indictment against the imprisoned presidential candidate. At the same time, an Istanbul court ordered the release of a high-profile mayor held on corruption charges, marking a notable shift in the broader judicial process. As a significant development in the ongoing corruption trials, the court ordered the release of Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, who had been in detention since July. Karalar became the first CHP mayor to be freed since the start of the Aziz İhsan Aktaş case on Jan. 27. Eight other employees of several municipalities were also released.
CRACKDOWN ON HAIR-BRAIDING CAMPAIGN
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.
ERBAKAN CALLS FOR END OF LAST LEGAL SHIELD FOR WOMEN
Islamist YRP Chair Fatih Erbakan has promised to repeal Law 6284, the main legal safeguard protecting women from violence and the only remaining protection after Turkey withdrew from the landmark Istanbul Convention in 2021.
VETERAN KURDISH POLITICIAN ACQUITTED
Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk of the DEM Party has been acquitted of charges of promoting terrorist propaganda over a 2011 speech in Siirt, which had formed the legal basis for his replacement by a trustee as mayor of Mardin.