Politics
Former mayor sentenced over terror-links
A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former district mayor and several municipal officials to prison on charges of financing the DHKP/C terrorist group, concluding a high-profile trial involving local government figures.
The 13th High Criminal Court in Istanbul sentenced former Sarıyer district Mayor Şükrü Genç to seven years and six months in prison for providing financial support to the armed group DHKP/C, according to the ruling.
Mahmut Serdar Kızılay received the same sentence on identical charges.
The case stemmed from an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which accused 25 defendants, including former deputy mayors and municipal officials, of channeling funds to the terrorist group through municipal-linked activities.
The court sentenced defendants Orhan Beğenmiş, Mehrali Seçme, Erdoğan Yıldız and Abdurrahman Emin to one year and 13 months in prison.
Eight others, including Melih Morsümbül and Haydar Battal, were sentenced to six years and three months for financing terrorism.
Prosecutors had sought prison terms of up to 27 years and six months for some defendants. The verdict was delivered at Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse following the final hearing of the trial.
Turkish authorities detained 93 tax inspectors in raids across 11 provinces as part of an investigation into the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ), prosecutors said Friday.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the operation was carried out under the direction of its Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau, with police counterterrorism units conducting coordinated raids targeting suspects accused of involvement in the group’s activities.
According to a statement from prosecutors, investigators determined that the suspects used pay phones and a prepaid card-based communication system allegedly employed by the organization as a covert method of communication.
Authorities said statements from informants indicated that the suspects had taken part in the group’s activities. The investigation targeted 94 tax inspectors, including both active personnel within the Treasury and Finance Ministry and others previously dismissed from public service.
Police detained 93 suspects during the operation, while one individual was found to be abroad, the statement said.
The terrorist group orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 were wounded. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Türkiye has targeted its active members and sleeper cells nonstop, and its influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected to be still operating within Turkish institutions.
FETÖ backers in army ranks and civil institutions have disguised their loyalty, as operations and investigations have indicated since the 2016 coup attempt. FETÖ is also implicated in a string of cases related to its alleged plots to imprison its critics, money laundering, fraud and forgery.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel their massive network of infiltrators everywhere. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe.
Those apprehended were mostly low-ranking members of the group, as high-ranking members managed to flee the country before and immediately after the coup attempt.
Still, security forces occasionally capture key figures of the group who managed to remain in hiding, such as Cihat Yıldız. Yıldız, accused of helping the escape of Adil Öksüz, the civilian mastermind of the 2016 coup attempt, was captured during a police check in August in Istanbul.
Turkish security sources also say the group is in turmoil after the death of its leader, Fetullah Gülen, in October 2024.
Parliament has approved a comprehensive amendment to the Highway Traffic Law, significantly increasing penalties for dangerous driving, in a move officials say is aimed at cutting road deaths by half.
The legislation, which enters into force upon publication in the Official Gazette, introduces tougher fines, longer license suspensions and, in some cases, prison sentences for serious violations.
Former Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who oversaw the preparation of the draft, said the goal is to reduce the annual number of traffic fatalities, currently around 6,000, to below 3,000. He noted that despite a sharp rise in inspections last year, authorities were only able to prevent 197 deaths.
In 2024, Türkiye recorded 385,000 injury-related traffic accidents, and inspections in residential areas will be further increased, Yerlikaya said.
Penalties for speeding, red lights
Under the new rules, drivers exceeding urban speed limits face immediate license suspensions of at least one month. In residential zones, those driving 46-55 kph (29-34 mph) over the limit will lose their licenses for 30 days, 56-65 kph over for 60 days, and 66 kph or more over for 90 days.
In school and hospital zones, where the speed limit is 30 kph, drivers clocked at 76 kph will face a 30-day suspension; at 86 kph, 60 days; and at 96 kph or more, 90 days.
Running a red light six times in one year will result in permanent revocation of a driver’s license. Drivers who cause accidents by running red lights will face a 60-day suspension and must undergo a psychotechnical evaluation before regaining their licenses.
Leaving the scene of a traffic accident involving injury or death without police permission will carry a prison sentence of one to three years.
Heavy fines, vehicle impoundments
The law imposes a TL 140,000 (approximately $4,375) fine on drivers who alter license plates to make them unreadable, along with a 30-day vehicle impoundment. Failing to yield to vehicles with the right of way carries a TL 15,000 fine.
Drivers who do not give way to ambulances, fire trucks or rescue vehicles face a TL 46,000 fine and a 30-day license suspension. Using a mobile phone while driving carries a TL 5,000 fine, rising to TL 10,000 for repeat offenses; a third violation will result in a one-month suspension.
Manufacturing, importing or possessing devices that detect speed enforcement systems is also banned. Producers face fines of TL 370,000, while vehicle owners found with such devices face TL 185,000 penalties.
Aggressive driving, including persistently tailgating or exiting a vehicle to confront another driver, will be punished with fines of up to TL 180,000, a 60-day license revocation and possible vehicle impoundment. In certain cases, reinstatement will require a psychotechnical report.
Drivers who organize races face a TL 46,000 fine and a two-year license revocation.
Focus on motorcycles
The legislation also addresses risks posed by motorcycles, which authorities say are involved in two out of every three at-fault accidents. Türkiye’s motorcycle fleet is expected to exceed 7 million this year, accounting for one in five vehicles on the road.
Officials said the sweeping reforms reflect a determination to protect public safety and strengthen enforcement against behavior that endangers lives on the country’s roads.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday criticized the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose lawmakers tried to derail the oath-taking ceremony of the newly appointed justice minister on Wednesday.
He said the CHP continues to cling to its past fascism and resort to banditry, referring to lawmakers engaging in fisticuffs.
Akın Gürlek, who succeeded Yılmaz Tunç as justice minister, arrived at Parliament on Wednesday to be formally sworn in, but CHP lawmakers suddenly leapt to the pulpit where he would recite the oath, effectively stopping him. Lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rushed to Gürlek’s side, and a brawl erupted between Mahmut Tanal of the CHP and Osman Gökçek of the AK Party. Other lawmakers traded blows, too, while AK Party deputies surrounded Gürlek, shielding him from CHP members hurling objects at him.
Gökçek later told reporters that Tanal had approached to assault Gürlek, and he intervened to stop him. The CHP earlier claimed that they were simply opposed to Gürlek being sworn in as justice minister from his previous post as chief prosecutor of Istanbul. The party also admitted that their opposition had more to do with the assignment of Gürlek, who was behind several corruption investigations against CHP-run municipalities.
Addressing a meeting of provincial chairs of his AK Party in Ankara, Erdoğan said they witnessed “the fascist, arrogant politics of the CHP once again” on Wednesday. “They demonstrated all kinds of banditry to stop our ministers from taking the oaths,” he said, referring to Gürlek as well as newly appointed Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi. “They occupied the pulpit of the nation.”
“But you cannot stop what will happen, Mr. Özgür,” Erdoğan said in reference to CHP Chair Özgür Özel, to the applause of AK Party members. “You cannot stop us. The ministers exercised their constitutional right and took oaths. What’s done is done. Why were you so disturbed?” Erdoğan said.
“But it is difficult for them to give up their fascist mindset. Parliament is not a place where you can start fights whenever convenient. I wonder whether they are at Parliament to defend the rights of people or terrorize people,” he said.
Erdoğan said the CHP’s politics were “ugly” as evidenced by the latest incident. “You should not humiliate yourself more. I condemn this attack that undermines people’s trust in politics and harms the dignity of Parliament,” he told the audience on Thursday, which included Gürlek and Çiftçi. Both ministers greeted AK Party members at the meeting and thanked Erdoğan for their appointment.
Gürlek has been targeted by several prominent members of the CHP, including Özel. Istanbul’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested for corruption last March, was also being tried for publicly threatening Gürlek and his family after the latter was investigated by Gürlek’s office.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli also had scathing remarks against the CHP over the scuffle at Parliament. In a written statement, the head of the government ally said the CHP would not be excused for its anti-democratic and fascist actions.
“This intolerant attitude has nothing to do with democracy and politics. The CHP’s depressing political attitude targets the Turkish state and its administration, and they are obviously hostile to the national will. We fully support our new ministers,” he said.
National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli, the Libyan government said in a statement on Thursday.
The meeting addressed issues of mutual interest, as well as recent local and regional developments.
The two sides emphasized the importance of strengthening coordinated international efforts to support Libya’s political process, it said.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to continued consultation and coordination to promote stability in the region.
In August, Kalın held a rare meeting with putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar in Libya’s Benghazi.
Libya has been divided since the NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with rival administrations in the east and west vying for power. Türkiye remains a key supporter of the Tripoli-based government while simultaneously expanding contacts with eastern authorities.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani on Thursday, discussing bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, according to a statement made by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications.
The two leaders reviewed steps to further enhance cooperation between Türkiye and Iraq, with a particular focus on trade and broader economic engagement.
Erdoğan underscored that Ankara would continue taking concrete steps to deepen ties across multiple sectors, stressing that stronger cooperation serves the mutual interests of both neighboring countries.
The president also emphasized the importance of intensifying collaboration in the fight against terrorism, noting that closer coordination would benefit both Türkiye and Iraq and contribute to regional stability.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining dialogue and strengthening the longstanding partnership between the two countries.
Germany is hosting NATO’s largest exercise of the year, Steadfast Dart 26, with Türkiye emerging as the biggest contributor among participating allies.
The drills, which began in January and will run through March, bring together approximately 10,000 troops from 10 European countries. Türkiye deployed around 2,000 personnel, traveling some 6,450 kilometers (4,010 miles) to take part in the exercise.
Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, commander of NATO’s Joint Force Command in the Netherlands and director of the exercise, praised the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for what he described as the most significant contribution to this year’s maneuvers.
“Türkiye’s contribution cannot be emphasized enough,” Gerhartz told BBC Türkçe, highlighting the deployment of the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, which docked at the German port of Emden with its accompanying task force and ground units. He added that the Turkish military made “by far the largest contribution” to Steadfast Dart 26.
Gerhartz also underscored the broader meaning of the drill, saying, “The fact that these countries are sending troops to Central Europe is a strong indication of unity within the alliance and that every inch of NATO territory will be defended if necessary.” He described the exercise as a clear demonstration that allied forces are ready to move rapidly and operate together across land, sea and air domains.
As part of its NATO commitments, Türkiye assumed command of the Amphibious Task Force and the Landing Force Command within the Allied Reaction Force (ARF) on July 1, 2025. In addition to TCG Anadolu, Türkiye sent the logistics support ship TCG Derya and the frigates TCG Istanbul and TCG Oruçreis to participate in the naval components of the drill.
Elements of the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade also joined the exercise, with images of Turkish soldiers posing alongside Turkish-flagged armored vehicles in Germany widely shared.
Steadfast Dart 26 focuses on the rapid deployment capabilities of the ARF, a multinational force established in 2024 to enhance deterrence and ensure swift reinforcement of NATO territory in times of crisis.
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