Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On Feb. 23, four separate courts in Istanbul and Ankara heard cases involving the CHP congress, corruption claims by businessperson and confessor Aziz İhsan Aktaş, accusations about its provincial chair, and the trial of a party bus driver.
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.
The European Union’s push to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) is reshaping the economic landscape around its periphery. Chief among these is the long-negotiated EU–Mercosur Trade Agreement, alongside accelerating talks with India. While these agreements are formally bilateral between the EU and third parties, their implications extend well beyond signatories. For Turkey, which is bound to the EU through a customs union covering industrial goods, these deals carry direct consequences—despite Ankara not being a negotiating party.
Despite a Constitutional Court ruling that his right to a fair trial had been violated, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court rejected on Nov. 6 a retrial for Tayfun Kahraman, an urban planner imprisoned in the Gezi Park case.
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.
No decision was reached at the second hearing of the case against two leaders of the top business group TÜSİAD for comments they made in speeches. In court, Orhan Turan, chair of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD), and Ömer Arif Aras, Chair of the High Advisory Council (YİK), denied the charges against them and requested acquittal.
Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdağ's trial on charges of insulting the president has been postponed until Dec. 24.
September was expected to be tough for the CHP due to ongoing investigations and trials—but no one expected a storm of this magnitude. Having fought operations targeting its municipalities for the past nine months, the CHP is now shaken by the court decision that appointed a “trustee” to its Istanbul congress. CHP members, calling this a “new judicial coup,” saw the move as the extension of operations against municipalities into the party itself. Speculation has grown that a trustee could also be appointed to the party headquarters in the coming days.
Pointing to the long-continued pre-trial detentions over the Istanbul Municipality probe, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli said that investigations into the Istanbul Municipality must be completed quickly to end speculation about bias in the judiciary.
The Constitutional Court ruled that Tayfun Kahraman’s right to a fair trial was violated and ordered a retrial. The decision was made by majority vote.
Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD) President Burhan Özdemir said exporters want the lira to weaken by more than 10% against the dollar.
The possibility the trial of imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu could be televised by state broadcaster TRT has sparked rare agreement among political rivals. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan endorsed MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli’s call for the hearings to be aired live. Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç also weighed in, saying that Parliament can act on the matter if there is consensus.