ÖZEL FACES NEW REQUEST TO LIFT IMMUNITY
Yeni Party Chair Özgür Özel faces a new effort aimed at removing his immunity from prosecution, one that looks more serious than 60 other such applications already filed in parliament.
Analysis
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CHP MAYORS FACE COURT AS WIDE-RANGING CORRUPTION TRIAL STARTS
Hearings have begun in a corruption probe involving municipalities run by the main opposition CHP, following investigations launched in March 2025. The case marks the first major trial stemming from the allegations, ahead of a separate prosecution involving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu that is set to begin on March 9. The CHP’s legal strategy and the court’s approach to the defendants are expected to shape Turkey’s political agenda over the many years the trials are expected to take.
IMAMOĞLU SHUTTLES BETWEEN SILIVRI COURTROOMS
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the detained Istanbul mayor and the CHP's presidential candidate, shuttled between two courtrooms at the Silivri complex — and both hearings produced developments that cut against the prosecution's narrative.
SECRET WITNESS PARADOXES CLOUD ISTANBUL PROBE
The withdrawal of a secret witness’ testimony — and the prosecution’s disregard for that fact — in the Istanbul probe is raising questions about the credibility of the indictment against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, CHP Chair Özgür Özel said. Newly released supplementary documents reveal serious contradictions in how secret witnesses were handled by prosecutors, although the government calls it “the largest corruption file of the century.”
CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN SHAKES BUSINESS AND POLITICS
A wave of asset seizures and prosecutions has shattered old certainties about which business groups are in favor with the government. The detentions and confiscations – some linked to the corruption probes into CHP municipalities – are raising hairs across the business world with observers uncertain whether it’s a genuine anti-corruption effort, a move to redistribute capital, or a sign of an internal power struggle within the presidency.
ANKARA MAYOR PUSHES TO REOPEN CORRUPTION FILES FROM HIS PREDECESSOR’S ERA
As the CHP-led Ankara municipality braces for a possible wave of prosecutions, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş has pressed for charges to be brought against former Mayor Melih Gökçek and his son, Osman Gökçek, an AKP deputy and owner of Beyaz TV.