Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) Chairman Orhan Turan and High Advisory Council Chairman Ömer Aras were detained by police just hours after President Tayyip Erdoğan’s “Know your place” rebuke during the February 19 AKP parliamentary group meeting. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had already initiated an investigation against Aras for his speech at
Let’s summarize the current situation: On February 18, while US and Russian Foreign Ministers were discussing the Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine’s presence, the Ukrainian President was seeking consolation from the Turkish President in Ankara. The European Union was also absent from the table—a point we’ll address shortly. Shortly after this meeting, US
A formal investigation has been launched against Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras, President of the High Advisory Council (YİK) of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), based on the views and criticisms he expressed during the association’s general assembly. Having served in the public sector, international organizations, and now in private industry for many years—witnessing
The series of investigations against Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) began on February 10th with a probe into allegations that the 2023 Party Congress was “tainted.” On February 11th, CHP members woke up to news of deputy mayors and municipal council members being detained across several Istanbul districts. The pretext was allegations that
Despite dozens of agreements and protocols signed over the years between Türkiye and Turkmenistan, we have yet to see the gas molecules flow. However, according to the announcement by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, if no setbacks occur, natural gas from Turkmenistan will begin flowing to Türkiye starting March 1st through a new
It is reported that Türkiye will take an active role in restructuring the Syrian military. According to the statement made by Ministry of National Defense sources, the proposal came from Syria and the first contact was established a week ago. Ministry’s statement came after Syrian interim President Ahmed Shara’s Ankara visit on February 4. Sources informed
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu faces another criminal case, this time for allegedly threatening Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. The indictment, prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, lists Prosecutor Gürlek as the “victim” and seeks a prison sentence ranging from 2 years 8 months to 7 years 4 months. The charges against İmamoğlu
The three-hour meeting between interim Syrian President Ahmed Shara and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara marked a historic moment in regional politics. Shara, arriving in a Turkish presidential aircraft from Damascus, was welcomed with full state honors, and the leaders discussed a wide range of issues from security cooperation
With “the crackdown” in the title, I’m referring to a series of judicial proceedings spanning from talent agent Ayşe Barım’s arrest in connection with the Gezi Park case to the latest investigation into Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for exposing the identity of a common expert witness in cases against CHP municipalities, and extending to
The Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan claimed yesterday that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the helm of Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is rushing to demolish the Grand Kartal Hotel where 78 people perished in the fire. This statement deeply pained me. The first person who came to my mind was journalist Uğur Mumcu, assassinated 32