Turkey Weekly 1 – 6 September 2026
Turkey Today – 06.09.2026
The statement given to the FBI by Umut Altaş, the fugitive suspect in the Gülistan Doku investigation, has been added to the case file. In his statement, Altaş stated that Mustafa Türkay Sonel had killed Doku and that he had helped to move the body.
At the DEM Party’s 5th Ordinary Congress, Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları were re-elected as co-chairs.
Instagram has closed the Turkish-language account of the Mesopotamia Agency. Citing its ‘Community Guidelines’ as the reason for the closure, Instagram did not allow an appeal or a request for reconsideration.
The prosecution has requested the detention of seven of the 12 people who were taken into custody and brought before the court as part of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) investigation.
Turkey Today – 05.09.2026
Human rights organisations, drawing attention to the situations of the seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Sait Yıldırım in Izmir, Neytullah Bayram in Ankara and Kadir Karabak in Istanbul, called for the release of the sick prisoners.
The Saturday Mothers/People brought attention to the case of Fethi Ildır, whose body was found bearing signs of torture after he was taken into custody in 1993, during their 1,119th week of protest.
Halide Türkoğlu, spokesperson for the DEM Party Women’s Assembly, who emphasised the need for a Women’s Council to ensure women play a key role in the peace process, said that the contacts they had established with female representatives from political parties with parliamentary groups were in the process of developing into a formal organisation.
A re-arrest warrant has been issued for Peyman Pınar Mersinli, the mother of the attacker who was released in the trial concerning the school attack in Maraş in which 10 people lost their lives.
Turkey Today – 04.09.2026
In Diyarbakır, police raided Amargi Culture and Arts Association after midnight, conducting an unannounced search and changing the lock on the association’s door.
Ahead of the election for deputy mayor, four CHP members of the Üsküdar Municipal Council defected to the AKP.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into 36 companies in connection with tenders organised by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and its subsidiaries.
Journalist Oya Lale Özan Arslan was detained as part of an investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information” and “organised group propaganda”.
The indictment against comedian Deniz Göktaş, who was arrested on the grounds of his ‘Dead Sea’ show, has been accepted. Göktaş, who faces up to 12 years in prison on three separate charges, is due to appear in court on 28 September.
New Party Diyarbakır MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu issued a statement following his visits to the İzmir Aliağa Prison Complex, expressing his outrage at the human rights violations taking place: “There is no longer any judiciary left in Turkey.”
Turkey Today – 03.09.2026
Despite being acquitted in the case against him, dismissed Mardin Co-Mayor Türk will not be able to resume his post for at least another two months following the decision to extend the suspension.
Fifteen people have been taken into custody as part of an investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
On the 75th day of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) trial, the requests for release submitted by the detained defendants were heard. The prosecutor at the hearing delivered his closing statement, calling for the continued detention of all the defendants.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into Ahmet Davutoğlu, the former leader of the Future Party, over statements shared on social media that are being treated as an offence of ‘insulting the President’.
Following Amedspor’s 2-1 underdog victory against Turkish football giants Trabzonspor, an individual recorded on the Trabzonspor supporter bus doing hate speech against Kurdish fans was detained yesterday.
Turkey Today – 02.09.2026
President Erdoğan, stating that the government has a roadmap and timetable for the process, said, “Processes that are open to such provocation must not be allowed to drag on for too long.”
Mustafa Karasu, a member of the KCK Executive Council, stated that they expect face-to-face meetings with Abdullah Öcalan to take place in the coming period.
Mazlum Abdi, the SDF Commander-in-Chief who was appointed to the post of ‘Presidential Adviser’ following the announcement that the SDF had been disbanded in Syria, has been removed from Turkey’s ‘terrorist list’.
The case of Mehmet Şimşek, a member of the Revolutionary Youth Associations who was arrested ahead of the NATO Summit and subjected to torture and ill-treatment at Antalya S-Type Prison, was raised in Parliament, calling for an investigation into the incidents.
As part of the investigation into Üsküdar Municipality, in which Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was arrested, Deputy Mayors Amine Cansu Çelik and Mithat Özdemir have been taken into custody.
Turkey Today – 01.09.2026
Drawing attention to the lawlessness that has occurred during the conflict, Erinç Sağkan, President of the Union of Bar Associations, said, “The issue should be viewed not merely as the silencing of weapons, but as the full-scale establishment of a democratic state governed by the rule of law and the fostering of social cohesion through the law.”
Marches were held in Diyarbakır and Istanbul to mark World Peace Day on 1 September, under the slogan ‘Democracy and peace will triumph over war and exploitation’.
Legal organisations, speaking on the occasion of the opening of the judicial year, emphasised the importance of establishing an independent and fair judiciary.
Another suspect detained during the fifth wave of operations carried out as part of the Gülistan Doku investigation has been remanded in custody. The number of detainees in the investigation has risen to 30, whilst proceedings for six suspects are still ongoing at Erzurum Courthouse.
Former Minister of the Interior İdris Naim Şahin, who had gone to Ankara Courthouse to give evidence as part of an investigation into the Süleymancılar community, was referred to the duty magistrate’s court with a request for judicial supervision.
YouTuber Arif Kocabıyık, who was subject to a travel ban abroad on charges of insulting the President and was detained yesterday at the Kapıkule Border Crossing, has been remanded in custody by the court before which he appeared.