Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
In a surprising move, former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek — long accused of corruption but never prosecuted — has been summoned to testify before the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Sept. 4.
Jailed Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek faces new criminal allegations involving prostitution and abuse of office, following his earlier arrest in a corruption probe, according to media reports.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, 67, for allegedly insulting the president in a video recorded five years ago but circulated recently on social media.
When the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office summoned the city’s former mayor, Melih Gökçek, to testify over his family members' assets and accounts in Germany, the first reaction was silence.
The DEM Party is intensifying pressure on the AKP/MHP ruling alliance to pass the framework law underpinning Turkey's Kurdish peace process before parliament enters for its summer recess — even as the party struggles to extract details of the draft from the AKP. The push has produced a flurry of contacts. İmralı Delegation members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, together with Faik Özgür Erol, met AKP Deputy Chair Efkan Ala and AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler on July 15, and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament the following day. Asked about the talks, Buldan declined to elaborate: 'We will not give information on the content.'
Is Mehmet Şimşek missing in action? No. He's still in office, still serving as the minister in charge of the economy. But that very fact is what makes people ask 'When will he step into the light?'
Halkbank, the state lender and fourth-largest bank in Turkey by assets, announced that a nine-year-old US criminal case against the bank is getting closer to a complete end. The bank and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York submitted a joint plea to the court on June 10, 2026, requesting the dismissal of all charges.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, known for his intensive diplomacy and negotiation efforts on Middle East cases, particularly Syria, has embarked for the first time since taking office on a lengthy Asia-Pacific tour, visiting four countries in succession.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğıan’s decision to appoint Akın Gürlek, a bogeyman for the main opposition CHP, as justice minister is the clear indication of a more bruising domestic politics ahead. The first sign of that came during the oath ceremony in Parliament. For the first time, a minister took the oath of office amid scuffles that escalated into pushing and shoving. AKP lawmakers formed what opposition deputies described as a “human wall” to shield the podium.
An investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into alleged drug use and prostitution involving celebrities has widened to include Istanbul Municipality and its jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, following media reports referring to secret hotel rooms, gambling, private parties and jet travel.
A series of layoffs, delayed salaries, office closures and suspension of broadcasts at Turkish media outlets has sparked alarm in the sector.
There is a way of establishing a working relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. First you have to make sure you see him as a smart, respectable world leader. That’s the easy part. Then you have to lure him with trade deals, making sure he is the winning side. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when Turkey unilaterally dropped its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products on Sept. 22, a few days before the scheduled meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Buzzwords are important for Trump, and tariff is one of them. The tariffs, which covered products including passenger cars, fruit, rice, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, solid fuels, and chemical products, were introduced in 2018 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports enacted during Trump's first term in office.