FORMER HDP MPS RELEASED
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.
Analysis
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DRUG OPERATION TARGETING CELEBRITIES TURNS INTO FIASCO
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an operation targeting more than a dozen celebrities on charges of using narcotics or stimulants. All were released shortly after tests showed they had not used drugs.
AYŞE BARIM FACES HOSPITALIZATION AND RE-ARREST
Talent manager Ayşe Barım, on trial for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government in connection with the 2013 Gezi Park protests, was briefly granted conditional release under judicial supervision—until an upper court overturned the ruling and issued a new arrest warrant just as she was about to undergo a medical procedure.
TELE1 EXECUTIVES RELEASED
Detained for comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the TV screen, TELE1 TV executives were released on judicial supervision after giving statements to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
LAWYER FOR İMAMOĞLU RELEASED UNDER JUDICIAL CONTROL
Nusret Yılmaz, one of the attorneys representing jailed Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and his wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, has been released under judicial control measures.
INEQUALITY WIDENS ACROSS TURKEY
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has released for the first time socio-economic status data at the provincial and district levels, based on 2023. Covering more than 26 million households, the study highlights sharp inequalities across Turkey, measuring income, education, and occupation.
ÖZEL ALLEGES BRIBERY SCHEME IN ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY LAWSUITS
CHP Chair Özgür Özel said he has evidence that some prosecutors and lawyers pressured defendants in the Istanbul Municipality cases to falsely confess to paying bribes in exchange for release. The following day, lawyer Mehmet Yıldırım was detained on the orders of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
NO NEW LAW, NO MASS RELEASES: GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO SÖZCÜ HEADLINES
Ahead of renewed hopes for a peace process, Sözcü — known for its opposition stance — has stirred controversy with successive headlines alleging the mass release of PKK-linked prisoners. The Justice Ministry has twice rejected the newspaper’s reports, which first claimed 200 prisoners had been released and later suggested an additional 700 would follow.
‘GOD’S MAN’ ARRESTED
“We’re from Adana, we’re God’s men.” If you ever visit Adana, you’ll hear this phrase—it’s on the lips of nearly every local. It’s like a common slogan, spoken across party lines, and always in the distinct Adana dialect. Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, arrested in this week’s wave of detentions targeting CHP municipalities, often uses this saying himself. He even printed posters featuring the phrase and released a video claiming it originated among troops from Adana during the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli.
TURKEY PREPARES FOR SYMBOLIC START OF PKK DISARMAMENT
Ankara is entering what officials describe as the final phase of the PKK’s disarmament, with expectations that images of surrendered weapons could be released in the coming days.
COUNTDOWN BEGINS AS PKK PREPARES TO DISARM, BOTH SIDES WARY OF PROVOCATIONS
The process dubbed “Terror-Free Turkey” by the ruling alliance has reached a critical point. The PKK is expected to release its first disarmament footage in the coming days. With such symbolic images looming, both sides are warning of possible provocations, stressing the need to remain vigilant against attempts to derail the process.
KÖPRÜ
In Turkey, a köprü (bridge) is never just a bridge. This week, the Bosphorus Bridge—officially renamed the “15 July Martyrs Bridge” after the 2016 coup attempt—became a stage for protest. A group of CHP deputies climbed onto the structure and unfurled a massive banner reading: “Free İmamoğlu” right before the CHP leader and his guests from the Socialist International would cross it. The message was direct: release Istanbul’s elected mayor, jailed on charges widely condemned as political. Only a few hours before that, the members of the Socialist International had raised a similar banner in their meeting.