Turkey Weekly 17 – 22 February 2025
Turkey Today – 22.02.2025
Courts have arrested 30 out of 54 individuals detained in operations targeting the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), including politicians, journalists, and artists, on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
The board members of the Istanbul Bar Association are facing prison sentences of up to twelve years. The Public Prosecutor General’s Office classifies a request to investigate a Turkish drone attack as terrorism.
A prosecutor’s office has initiated another investigation against the opposition’s Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu based on the claims that his university diploma was “forged.”
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 1039 and demanded justice for Murat Yildız who was forcibly disappeared under custody 30 years ago.
Turkey Today – 21.02.2025
The co-mayor of Kars’s Kağızman district Mehmet Alkan has been sentenced to over six years in prison on terror charges. The politician interprets the decision as preparation for the appointment of a trustee.
A lawsuit was filed against 3 people who were subjected to police violence during the trustee protest in Adana due to “resisting to prevent the execution of duty”.
Authorities prosecuted farmer Sinan Çiftçi for insulting the president after he criticized the government over agricultural struggles. Çiftçi faces up to 4 years and 8 months in prison.
The 7-day ban on “demonstrations and events” imposed by the Governorate of Diyarbakır between 21-27 November 2022 was cancelled two years later, as it was found “unlawful”.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has officially entered CHP’s presidential primary, submitting his candidacy through his lawyer at the party headquarters in the capital of Ankara.
The second hearing of the trial against journalist Furkan Karabay, filed on the complaints of President Erdoğan, was held in Istanbul. The prosecutor requested that Karabay be sentenced on the charges against him. Trial adjourned until April.
Turkey Today – 20.02.2025
Authorities temporarily detained the TÜSİAD business association’s chair Orhan Turan and executive Ömer Aras after they criticized the government and urged judicial independence. The court barred them from traveling abroad under judicial control measures.
The third hearing of the trial against Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı on charges of “publicly denigrating the Republic of Turkey,” was held in Istanbul. The court ruled for Şebnem Korur Fincancı’s acquittal.
It is learned that the prosecutor told the lawyers in the investigation launched against HDK in 2022 that a decision of “non-prosecution” would be issued. However, with the change of the prosecutor, the course of the file changed and a new operation was launched.
The 17th hearing of the trial in which lawyer and ÇHD member Seda Şaraldı and 11 others are being prosecuted on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” was held in Istanbul. The court ruled for the release of Seda Şaraldı under a travel ban. Trial adjourned until April.
In Lîce, the police sealed a coffee shop for 30 days on the grounds that MEDYA Haber TV channel was broadcasting in the shop.
President Erdoğan has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara, urging an end to the war. The leaders signed agreements and discussed Ukraine’s sovereignty, peace efforts, and security.
Turkey Today – 19.02.2025
Turkish warplanes bombed areas in Amediye and Metina in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
DEM Party announced that the talks of İmralı Delegaiton in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have ended and the delegation will return within the day.
A prosecutor’s office has sought up to four years in prison and a political ban for main opposition’s Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu over “attempting to influence an expert witness.”
Disciplinary proceedings were intiated against prisoners in Urfa Prison who refused to be held in handcuffs during examination and treatment.
A court has acquitted Mehmet Akalan, a teenager who was publicly identified as a “terrorist” by the Interior Ministry, ruling that there was no evidence linking him to terrorism-related offenses. Akalan was arrested in early 2024 during a raid in a village in Diyarbakır.
The 6th hearing of the lawsuit filed against journalist Pınar Gayıp and two others due to “membership in a terrorist organization” and “making terrorist propaganda” was held in Istanbul. After prosecutor reiterated their final opinion, the hearing was briefly adjourned.
Turkey Today – 18.02.2025
At least 52 people were detained in police raids across 10 provinces in this morning as part of an operation targeting members of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) abd leftist groups.
İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that more detention orders were issued for 60 individuals in connection with the investigation on terrorism-related offenses.
During the protests against the dismissal of Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayors, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Party Assembly member Kenan Ildeniz was detained for hours in rear-handcuff and dragged on the ground. Ildeniz shoulder and fingers were broken.
Yesterday, the head of the United Textile, Leather, and Shoe Workers’ Union (BİRTEK-SEN), was arrested in Antep.
Oktay Avcu was sentenced to 10 months in prison after he filed a complaint against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the videos that the latter showed at his rallies during the 2023 election campaign period.
Turkey Today – 17.02.2025
Mümin Erol, DEM Party Co-Mayor of Bitlis’s Tatvan district, was detained due to “insulting the President”. The politician is said to have removed a picture of Erdoğan from his office in which an AKP member was previously sitting.
DEM Party delegation has met with Kurdistan Democratic Party President Masoud Barzani in Erbil as part of visits following talks with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Barzani expressed his full readiness to support the peace process. The delegation also met KRI President Nechirvan Barzani.
Former Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş from the CHP has filed a lawsuit to annul his party’s 2023 congress which was recently called “shady” by President Erdoğan.
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Turkey Weekly 10 – 16 February 2025
Turkey Today – 16.02.2025
Journalist Egîd Roj was killed in a Turkish drone attack against Tishreen Dam.
Stating that the appointment of trustees has turned into a practice of governance, 34 bar associations said: “This understanding has gone down in history as a clear intervention against the will of the voters”
CHP chair Özel has accused President Erdoğan of “continuing putschist tradition” while commenting on the government’s ousting of Van co-Mayor Zeydan.
Ankara’s Mayor Mansur Yavaş has called for a return to a parliamentary system, citing concerns about governance and judicial independence. He criticized the swift probe into TÜSİAD’s president and warned that legal instability discouraged investment.
Turkey Today – 15.02.2025
The police attacked the protest against the appointment of trustees to Van Metropolitan Municipality and detained Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Doğan Hatun. Neslihan Şedal, Co-mayor of Van, was injured.
The local court’s acquittal verdict against the police officer who killed Miraç Miroğlu with an armoured vehicle in Şirnak’s Idil district was overturned by the Court of Appeal. Miroğlu’s case will be retried.
Saturday Mothers gathered at Galatasaray Square in week 1038 and demanded the punishment of those responsible for the murder of Rıdvan Karakoç. The Kurd was arrested, tortured, murdered and buried anonymously in Istanbul 30 years ago.
Boğaziçi University students launched an occupation protest at the newly opened chain coffee shop at the campus in response to the closure of the campus canteen as well as the restriction of coffee sales in other areas on campus.
Turkey Today – 14.02.2025
Turkish warplanes bombed a village in the west of Kobane and the area around Sirrin in the south of Kobane.
Several people, including lawyers Volkan Bilice and Hebun Hakan Akkaya, members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom, were detained during house raids in several cities.
Several houses, including Jin Art House were raided by the police in Izmir in the morning hours. Many DEM Party and DBP executives were detained.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into top business group TÜSİAD’s Ömer Aras for “attempting to influence the judiciary” with his remarks on governance failures and recent political developments.
DEM Party MP Saliha Aydeniz, who met with prisoners in prisons in Antalya, stated that ill prisoners have not been transferred to hospital for a year and that their right to treatment has been prevented.
Turkey’s Family and Social Services Ministry marked Valentine’s Day with a post urging marriage, tied to the “Year of Family” initiative.
Turkey Today – 13.02.2025
Turkish warplanes bombed a village in Kandil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
10 people detained in an operation organised against CHP municipalities were arrested.
Prisoner Emrah Kandemir was not released on the grounds of “not being in good behaviour” although he completed his sentence on 24 December 2024. The release was extended by 6 months due to his participation in a hunger strike.
President Erdoğan has strongly criticized U.S. President Trump’s recent proposal to forcefully relocate Palestinians from the Gaza, labeling it a “major threat to world peace.”
The second hearing of the case against LGBTİ+ activist İris Mozalar, who is accused of “publicly inciting hatred and hostility” based on four social media posts criticizing the racist attacks against Syrians in Kayseri, was held in Istanbul yesterday. Trial adjourned until 26 February.
Turkey Today – 12.02.2025
8 people, including DEM Party Party Assembly member Pakize Sinemillioğlu, were detained during police raids in Ankara.
Kurdistan Workers’ Party made a statement emphasizing that a new process will start with the expected statement of Abdullah Öcalan.
The Turkish military and its SNA mercenaries continued their airstrikes on the area surrounding the Tishreen Dam yesterday.
The sit-in protests in Van continue after Co-Mayor Abdullah Zeydan’s prison sentence.
The first hearing of the trial against journalist Delal Akyüz, who has been under house arrest since February, was held in İzmir. The court ruled to maintain his travel ban. Trial adjourned until May.
Turkey Today – 11.02.2025
10 people, including deputy mayors, were detained in an operation against 7 CHP-run district municipalities in Istanbul. Prosecutors allege that the cooperation in last year’s local elections between the CHP and the DEM Party in İstanbul districts was orchestrated by the PKK.
Turkish warplanes are bombing the surroundings of a village in Kobane.
DEM Party Co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari said that the call expected to be made by PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan may not reach the 15th of February.
The second hearing of the trial against journalists Esra Solin Dal, Mehmet Aslan, and Erdoğan Alayumat was held in Istanbul. The court decided to send an official writ to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to inquire about the status of the ongoing investigation files Trial adjourned to May. Turkey Today – 10.02.2025
The İmralı Delegation will visit the Kurdistan Region of Iraq next weekend. They will meet with KDP Chair Massoud Barzani, Federated Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, YNK Chair Bafil Talabani and other officials.
An Ankara prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the CHP’s party congress held in 2023, which was deemed “shady” by President Erdoğan.
The retrial of Hakan Avcı, the police officer who crushed civil engineer Cihan Can with an armoured bus in Amed in 2019, started after the Court of Appeal overturned the fine given to him.
Severely ill prisoners Şervan Muhammed and Kerem Bilgin, who are being held in Urfa Type T Closed Prison No 1, were not treated because they refused to be examined in handcuffs.
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Turkey Weekly 3 – 9 February 2025
Turkey Today – 09.02.2025
In Ain Issa in north-east Syria, a 15-year-old boy was hit by a kamikaze drone and died instantly.
Kurdish journalist organisations Dicle Fırat Journalists Association and Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association and the Free Press Union condemned the killing of Kurdish journalist Aziz Köylüoğlu, who was killed in a Turkish drone strike on 27 January 2025.
Turkish authorities have banned access to journalist Metin Cihan’s X account in which he has been sharing documents on Turkish companies continuing trade with Israel.
The BirGün newspaper’s executives Yaşar Gökdemir, Uğur Koç, and Berkant Gültekin have been detained due to a news report about Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek.
Astrologer Hilal Saraç, who was accused of insulting President Tayyip Erdoğan and far-right leader Devlet Bahçeli, was arrested after making “predictions” regarding Bahçeli’s health.
Turkey Today – 08.02.2025
A Kurdish village in Kobane has been bombed by the Turkish army. Nine people, most of them children and young people, were injured.
The Kurdish journalist Aziz Köylüoğlu has been killed in a Turkish drone attack in the Kurdistan of Iraq.
Head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) İbrahim Kalın visited Iran and met with Ali Akbar Ahmadiyan, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
The Istanbul Governor denied CHP’s application for organizing a pro-Palestine march in Galata Bridge. Pro-government groups used the same bridge for a similar protest nearly a month ago.
More than 100 people have died due to bootleg alcohol in Turkey’s capital Ankara and megacity Istanbul while dozens were hospitalized since mid-January.
Turkey Today – 07.02.2025
Tunceli Co-mayor Birsen Orhan was sentenced to 5 months in prison for her speeches during the trustee protests.
Journalists Nezahat Doğan and Dicle Müftüoğlu have applied to the Ministry of Justice for an interview with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that his country, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan had reached a preliminary agreement and would take steps toward jointly combating Islamic State.
Halise Aksoy, whose son’s body was delivered to her in a box by cargo, was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison based on the testifies of a confessor.
Çetin Tutkun, an ill prisoner in Tekirdağ Type F High Security Prison, told his family that he was subjected to violence because he objected to strip search.
Turkey Today – 06.02.2025
Turkish warplanes once again attacked the people on vigil at Tishrin Dam, 3 citizens were wounded.
A prosecutor’s office has sought up to seven years and four months in prison and a political ban for main opposition’s Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu for “insulting,” “threatening,” and “targeting” Istanbul prosecutor Gürlek.
The objection to the detention of Istanbul Bar Association Executive Board member Fırat Epözdemir was rejected without justification.
News website Artı Gerçek’s X account was blocked.
Arrested manager Ayşe Barım’s brother and friend were also detained.
Turkey Today – 05.02.2025
Erdoğan met with German President Steinmeier. During their joint press conference, the two sides emphasised the developments in Syria.
3 villages in Til Temir city of Northern and Eastern Syria were shelled with heavy weapons.
Although Reşat Özdil, who has been in prison for more than 30 years, has completed his sentence, his release was postponed for the third time by the Administration and Observation Board because he did not accept the “remorse” imposition.
Merdan Yanardağ, editor-in-chief of TELE1 channel, has been acquitted of charges related to spreading false information about an alleged assassination plot targeting Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former CHP chair.
Turkey Today – 04.02.2025
DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan has announced that PKK leader Öcalan “is preparing for a historic call in the coming days” to solve the Kurdish question and for a democratic country.
The allegation that Van Mayor Abdullah Zeydan “entered a banned area”, which was used as grounds for his prosecution, was refuted by the expert report. The statements of the police station commander, who testified earlier, also coincide with the expert report.
An investigation was initiated against MP Cemal Enginyurt, who joined CHP today, for insulting and threatening the President.
Since Jan. 28, at least 570 earthquakes have been recorded in the Aegean Sea while Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) described the seismic activity in the region as an “earthquake swarm.”
Turkey Today – 03.02.2025
The centre of Kobane and surrounding villages have been cut off from water supply after a Turkish airstrike destroyed an important water station.
Syria’s newly appointed transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, will visit Ankara tomorrow at the invitation of Turkish President Erdoğan, the Turkish Presidency said.
According to a report by Habertürk, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into media coverage of the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
President Erdoğan has suggested that they might impose age restrictions on social media platforms. “Screen addiction, which is spreading like a plague in society, is also at the top of our agenda,” he noted.
The top appeals court has overturned the aggravated life sentence of Cemal Metin Avcı who brutally murdered Pınar Gültekin back in 2020. The court argued that the provision of “unjust provocation” should be used to reduce the sentence of Avcı.
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Turkey Weekly 1 – 2 February 2025
Turkey Today – 02.02.2025
Ten people, including children, were injured yesterday evening in a Turkish airstrike on a village 30 kilometres west of the city of Kobane in Northern Syria.
The protest in Siirt against the appointment of a trustee continues.
3 people who were detained due to the expressions “Fascist leader, Chief Erdoğan” in some articles and news reports in Atılım newspaper were released with judicial control measures.
Far-right Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) leader Fatih Erbakan has announced his presidential bid and launched campaign efforts. He said the party would field its own candidate this time.
Turkey Today – 01.02.2025
Seven journalists who were arrested in Istanbul shortly before Christmas for “terror propaganda” following a protest against the killing of two colleagues by a Turkish drone have been released from custody.
Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç said that if a consensus is reached in the Parliament, “a social contract in which all segments of society find themselves will be made”.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has given his testimony in an investigation launched on the grounds of “threatening” Istanbul prosecutor Akın Gürlek. He said his remarks in question were not “threatening,” but rather within “the freedom of expression.”
The National Defense Ministry dismissed five newly graduated lieutenants, and three of their supervisors, from the military for drawing their swords and chanting “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk)” during their oath ceremony.
In the 1036th week of their protests, Saturday Mothers asked for the fate of Bedirhan Tüysüz, who disappeared 46 years ago, and demanded an effective investigation.
A court has arrested historian Çiğdem Bayraktar Ör over “insulting” President Erdoğan in her social media post.