Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
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.
The ruling AKP submitted its 11th Judicial Package to Parliament, reviving a pandemic-era execution rule that could lead to the release of up to 115,000 inmates. The clause concerning juvenile offenders was removed from the final draft. Although the bill originally included prison sentences for LGBT+, this was also dismissed.
Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan has likened inflation to a virus, saying it becomes harder to eliminate the longer it lingers in the economy. “We are applying the right prescription,” he said. “We’ve achieved positive results so far, and we have no doubts about our ultimate goal. But the effect of the prescription varies from case to case.”
A Turkish court has handed a four-year prison sentence to journalist Fatih Altaylı after he was convicted of threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Altaylı, known for his popular YouTube programs, denies the charges and plans to appeal, after prosecutors accused him of physically threatening the president based on remarks he made on his channel. He was arrested on June 22 and appeared before the judge for the second time at this week’s hearing. He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for threatening the president. The court ruled that judicial control would be insufficient and ordered that his detention continue. Altaylı threw the notes and files in his hand after hearing the decision and left the courtroom.
A wedding portrayed the complexity and the changing dynamics of political relations in Turkish politics. Veteran politician Mehmet Sevigen, who was expelled from the CHP in 2021 and appears on TV screens as a sharp commentator against the CHP under Özgür Özel, managed to unite a range of opponents at his son’s wedding.
Turkey will test the proposed “basic citizenship income” pilot program, first announced by the governing AKP in 2023.
The deaths of child laborers enrolled in Vocational Training Centers (MESEM) triggered tense exchanges in the Planning and Budget Commission.
Construction of the supply and logistics support vessels for the Portuguese Navy began at Istanbul Ada Shipyard on Nov. 17.
Aselsan’s Low-Observable Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS), known as Toygun, has been integrated into the fuselage of a Bayraktar Kızılelma, marking the first time globally that embedded EOTS technology has been implemented on an unmanned fighter aircraft, aviation company Baykar said.
The tail broke off first, and then the fuselage split into three pieces, according to preliminary findings in the C-130 transport plane that crashed in Georgia on Nov. 11, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said.
Months of competition between Turkey and Australia has come to an end, as Turkey became next year’s host of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). Australia will chair the summit, while discussions will focus on the Pacific, according to the compromise reached on Nov. 19, hours before the end of this year's summit in Brazil.
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.