Politics
Turkish authorities jail 54 in raids against FETÖ structure
Turkish authorities detained 70 suspects in coordinated raids targeting the alleged current network of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) across four provinces, with 54 of them formally arrested, officials said.
The operation, carried out on Feb. 17 under the coordination of the Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, followed eight months of technical and physical surveillance and wiretapping, according to security sources. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Kayseri Provincial Police Department conducted the joint operation simultaneously in Kayseri, Istanbul, Adana and Mersin.
A total of 144 teams and 676 personnel, including special operations units, took part in the raids at identified addresses. After completing procedures at the police department, the suspects were referred to court. Fifty-four were arrested pending trial, while 16 were released under judicial control measures.
Authorities said items seized during the operation included a concealed audio recording and camera device, three unlicensed shotguns, a blank-firing pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, organizational documents and digital materials.
Separately, police this week also detained several individuals in Samsun, Muğla and Hatay provinces who had been convicted of FETÖ membership and were sought to serve prison sentences.
In the Bafra district of Samsun province, police arrested a 50-year-old identified as O.B., who had a finalized prison sentence of eight years and nine months for “establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization.” He was transferred to a correctional facility after legal procedures were completed.
In the Fethiye district of Muğla province, authorities detained E.E., who had been sentenced to six years, 10 months and 15 days for membership in an armed terrorist organization. He was also sent to prison.
In Hatay province, police captured two fugitives, identified as B.T. and S.K., who had received prison sentences of four years and two months, and two years and one month, for membership of the FETÖ terrorist group. Both were transferred to prison following processing.
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.
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.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met in Ankara on Wednesday for the third meeting of the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council, where the two sides also signed a reciprocal visa exemption agreement for holders of diplomatic and special passports.
The agreement, officially titled “Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Türkiye and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the Mutual Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Special Passports,” was signed following the council meeting, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
Fidan held talks with a Saudi delegation led by Bin Farhan in the Turkish capital as part of the council, which serves as a platform for coordination and cooperation between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia on bilateral and regional issues.
In a statement shared on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Fidan said the meeting was held with the participation of relevant ministries and institutions from both countries.
He said the sides reviewed committee work in strategic areas such as trade, energy, defense, education, culture, tourism and transportation, while addressing bilateral ties within an institutional framework.
Fidan also said the talks covered regional issues, particularly the situation in Gaza, and the two countries signed an agreement on the reciprocal exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and special passports.
The Turkish foreign minister thanked his Saudi counterpart and the accompanying delegation for their visit, expressing hope that the agreements reached would bring benefits to both countries.
The Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council was established in 2016 and held its first meeting in Ankara in 2017. The second meeting was held in May 2025 in Riyadh. The council is comprised of five subcommittees, including the committees on politics, diplomacy, military and security, culture, sports, media, tourism, social development, health, education, commerce, industry, investment, infrastructure and energy.
Bilateral ties between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have flourished in recent years, and the two countries have also enhanced cooperation in multilateral platforms. As for economic ties, bilateral trade volume rose to $8.5 billion as of the end of 2025.
Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts and security strategy provided an “environment of non-conflict” in Libya, and this led to renewed negotiations between actors in the country’s east and west after a five-year hiatus, experts say.
They highlighted that the balance of security achieved by Türkiye in the North African country pushed the sides to finally understand that a prolonged conflict would not bring about a concrete outcome.
Hanna Tetteh, the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy for Libya, earlier lauded Türkiye’s stand on Libya that supported stability. Tetteh underlined in remarks on April 19 that without Türkiye’s support, western Libya in particular would not reach the stability it has.
The sides controlling Libya’s west and east met on April 29 under the supervision of the mission led by Tetteh and agreed on restructuring Libya National Election Commission. This paved the way for new talks on electoral laws, the main cause of political conflict in the country. Concerns, however, linger that a new deadlock may emerge in the country.
Professor Veysel Kurt of Istanbul Medeniyet University, who serves as research director at Middle Eastern Studies Center (ORSAM), told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday after a workshop on Libyan-Turkish relations in Tripoli that the Turkish-Libyan security deal signed in 2020 ensured stability in the country. Kurt stated that interventions by various international actors in Libya have had a negative impact on prolonging the political deadlock.
“At the point we have reached today, Türkiye has made significant diplomatic moves to establish relations with both the Tripoli government and the actors in Benghazi and to ensure reconciliation between them. Ultimately, it is important that these two actors meet face-to-face in Italy for the first time in a long while.”
Kurt assessed that reaching an agreement on the structuring of the National Election Commission at the meeting of Libyan parties is an important sign that the process is moving forward. Stating that to end the division in Libya, either one side must disappear or reconciliation must be achieved between the parties, Kurt said: “One of two scenarios is necessary to eliminate the division. Either one side will completely defeat the other and take full control, or a compromise will be reached. The first scenario did not happen. During the prolonged conflicts and civil war, neither Haftar’s side nor the Tripoli government was able to fully control the country. Therefore, what remains is the second scenario: ‘reconciliation.’”
“If the two sides cannot eliminate each other, then only one option remains: reconciling them. And despite all the difficulties, Türkiye achieved this. It was a very important matter for Libya to continue its political life as an institutionally and territorially unified country.”
Kurt noted that it is an optimistic development that Libyan parties have come together at the same table to address election laws. “Of course, after reconciliation is achieved, the rest of the matter will be decided by the Libyan people. In other words, what result will emerge from the elections, and which structure will take governing authority? This will be a decision made by the Libyan people.”
Associate professor Yunus Turan from Hacı Bayram Veli University also stated that, as in every period of history, Türkiye has always stood actively by Libya’s side after 2011.
Turan said that Türkiye has made serious efforts in terms of political and security paradigms for Libya’s national unity, territorial integrity and unification under a single umbrella.
“Türkiye has essentially proceeded with the motto of one Libya, one nation, one country. Up to now, Türkiye’s policies have demonstrated a consistent Libya policy in this regard. The picture that emerged from the meeting of Libyan parties in Rome showed how consistent and meaningful Türkiye’s Libya policy has been from the very beginning.”
“The point we have reached in 2026 has proven how much the Libyan people desire and approve of Türkiye’s policy. The international media did not accept this in this way and resisted it for many years, putting forward policies toward the fragmentation of Libya. But in the end, it became clear that the policy Türkiye has pursued from the beginning is the most consistent and the one most desired by the Libyan people,” he said. Turan added that recent developments show Türkiye is a unifying actor in the region and that its foreign policy resonates with the people of the region.
Burak Yetimoğlu, a lecturer at Hacettepe University’s Department of International Relations, stated that Türkiye played a very significant role behind the scenes of the UN-sponsored “4+4” meeting where Libyan parties came together.
Emphasizing the importance of military units from eastern and western Libya coming together at the EFES-2026 Exercise in Türkiye’s Izmir, Yetimoğlu said that Türkiye has made major contributions to bringing Libyan parties together around the same table in the 4+4 meeting.
Stating that Türkiye has taken important steps in building a bridge between eastern and western Libya and in shaping the country into a more stable and stronger structure under a single political framework, Yetimoğlu said: “Meetings like the 4+4 are very valuable. We see that Libyan parties are working on election timelines at the table in the 4+4 meeting. When we look at the past, we must certainly not forget the role Türkiye has played here.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday lauded the role of foundations in Türkiye’s culture of charity and pledged to protect the historical and spiritual values inherited from its ancestors.
Speaking during the Foundations Week Celebration Program at the Beştepe Nation’s Congress and Culture Center in Ankara, Erdoğan said charitable foundations have played a central role in shaping Turkish and Islamic civilization throughout history.
“We will continue to protect the values that made our nation what it is, values that reflect the spirit and legacy of our glorious past bearing the marks and seal of our ancestors,” Erdoğan said.
The event, organized under the theme “Foundation Civilization in Architecture and Elegance,” brought together foundation representatives, officials and civil society members at the Presidential Complex.
Erdoğan noted the concepts of architecture, elegance, foundations and civilization complemented and enriched one another, describing Türkiye’s historical foundation culture as unique in the world.
“The historical, cultural and identity heritage we inherited combined architecture with elegance, crowned elegance with foundation services and transformed the foundation tradition into a civilization feast unparalleled in the world,” he stressed.
Foundations, known as “vakıf” in Turkish and Islamic tradition, historically funded a wide range of public services across the Ottoman Empire, including schools, hospitals, mosques, libraries and social welfare programs.
Erdoğan said the tradition embraced all aspects of social life and extended beyond human needs to include environmental and animal protection.
“In the Ottoman era, a person would be born in a foundation-funded house, grow up in a foundation-supported cradle, study using foundation books and even be buried in a foundation cemetery,” he said.
He also referred to historical examples ranging from providing ink to students and restoring shrines to protecting migratory storks and caring for abandoned patients.
The Turkish leader thanked charitable organizations and volunteers dedicating their time and resources to humanitarian work without expecting anything in return.
The president also criticized unnamed groups he accused of targeting foundations and associations while remaining silent about corruption allegations elsewhere.
“Those whose only political direction is money, rent and personal interests target our foundations and associations at every opportunity,” he said.
He added that foundations operating in areas such as youth education, humanitarian aid and social solidarity continue to serve as “a source of pride” for the Turkish nation.
Foundations Week is marked annually in Türkiye with events highlighting the country’s charitable and cultural heritage rooted in Ottoman and Islamic traditions.
The fate of the current administration of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is in the hands of its former members and the courts in Ankara. Months after several CHP delegates filed a lawsuit claiming corruption in an intraparty election in 2023, two cases linked to complaints are before the courts. In one case, judges adjourned Wednesday’s hearing to July 1 while a court of appeals is expected to issue a verdict in another case that may eject the current administration.
The 26th Penal Court on Wednesday heard a defendant and a witness at Wednesday’s hearing in the case where 12 defendants are accused of irregularities and fraud at the November 2023 election that brought incumbent Chair Özgür Özel to power in Türkiye’s oldest party. Among the defendants are Istanbul’s disgraced former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested last year on charges of corruption in another case. They face prison terms up to three years and a political ban.
Testifying at the hearing on Wednesday, Baki Aydöner, a member of the CHP’s Party Assembly, denied allegations and claimed the eyewitnesses testified earlier had “contradictions” in their statements. A delegate who voted at the 2023 elections was heard as an eyewitness and told the court that he did not witness any wrongdoings during, before and after the election.
Before adjourning the hearing to July, the court ordered hearing of Adem Soytekin as an eyewitness in the next session. Soytekin, a businessman, has most recently testified in a case against Imamoğlu in Istanbul, where he admitted paying bribes to the Istanbul municipality in exchange of permits. Soytekin has claimed that a construction subsidiary of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality handed out free real estate to “people influential in the election process.”
Onur Yusuf Üregen, the lawyer of former Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş, one of the plaintiffs, told the hearing on Wednesday that the case in question does not concern a simple procedural irregularity that occurred at the convention where the election was also held. “Purchasing democratic will is a crime against public order,” he told the court.
He said some delegates were systematically provided with material benefits in order to influence their voting will and argued that witness statements and other evidence in the case file clearly demonstrate the elements of the crime beyond any doubt, and that the will of the delegates was cumulatively compromised. Üregen stated that his client, Lütfü Savaş, acted in line with the rule of law and political ethics without seeking personal gain, but was nevertheless targeted, threatened and subjected to attempts to discredit him during the process.
He claimed that his client acted to protect the CHP’s democratic tradition by filing the complaint.
“The integrity of the evidence in the file makes it necessary to punish the defendants. This is because what is at stake here is the usurpation of political will and the corruption of democratic representation. In this respect, the case has a public, not an individual, character. Therefore, we respectfully request that the defendants be punished, with our faith in the Turkish judiciary and justice,” he said.
Elsewhere, the judicial process in what is publicly known as the “absolute nullification” case is still at the appellate stage. The case stems from criminal complaints by former delegates who voted in the same 2023 election. Plaintiffs accuse several figures of CHP of “impairing the will of the delegates” during the electoral process and call for nullification of the results of the election.
A lower court rejected the request for absolute nullification without examining the merits of the case. Following this rejection, the plaintiffs brought the case before the Ankara Regional Court of Justice for appellate review. During its review, the appellate court requested all evidence and case files from the relevant local courts in Istanbul and Ankara. The court is currently examining all these documents.
If a ruling of absolute nullification is issued, it would render the CHP leadership invalid, potentially leading to the appointment of a trustee or interim administration for the party.
If the verdict becomes final, the leadership prior to the congress, namely Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his team, could legally regain authority in place of Özgür Özel’s administration. The court may also appoint a temporary administrative board (trustee) to lead the party to a new congress. Kılıçdaroğlu has also signalled that he was ready to take the post of trustee as well before a new intraparty election.
For the ruling to become final, both the appellate and Court of Cassation processes must be completed.
The possibility of an absolute nullification verdict led to mobilization within the party, with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş openly calling on the administration to “do something” a few weeks ago. Özel, meanwhile, continued his rallies across the country, seeking support for an early or by-election, and rallied the CHP supporters around mayors detained or arrested on charges of corruption. The party may continue its rallies in case of absolute nullification, while media reports say Özel and several lawmakers may leave the CHP and establish a new party.
Details of the inaugural meeting of the Cyber Security Board held on Tuesday in Ankara revealed that Türkiye has a vision of keeping its own data within its borders and developing a security system with locally made components.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired the meeting of the board in the capital. Ministers, the intelligence chief, the head of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications and the chief of the cybersecurity directorate, as well as the secretary-general of the National Security Council and head of the Presidency of Defense Industries, attended the meeting.
A report by the Sabah newspaper delved into discussions at the meeting, including talks on global cyberattack risks, data sovereignty, AI-supported disinformation and risks the critical infrastructure faces.
Topics of the meeting included the KamuNet end-to-end public sector network, an artificial intelligence shield, steps needed to end dependence abroad on chips and software, protection plans for vital sectors like energy, finance and health care, and boosting the rapid response capacity in times of crises. The report says that the country aims to continue development of national software, hardware and engineering capacity against cyberattacks and defend the cyber infrastructure.
Participants emphasized that cybersecurity was not merely a technical issue but a basic element of national security. They also highlighted that Türkiye should remain committed to elevating the defense of the “digital homeland” to the highest level in the face of globally expanding cyberattacks, data leaks and the risk of digital manipulation.
Data sovereignty was extensively discussed at the meeting with participants, highlighting the importance of storing and processing Türkiye’s strategic data within the country and decreasing dependence on foreign systems. They underlined that end-to-end networks like KamuNet, the national software inventory and national artificial intelligence solutions would speed up the “digital independence” process.
The “Artificial Intelligence Shield” strategy developed by the Directorate of Communications was also discussed at the meeting. This system aims to boost the data security of public agencies, prevent disinformation and set up a strong line of defense against digital manipulation. Participants also stressed that locally made AI chips, software and encrypted networks would further reinforce digital independence.
Participants also talked about risks posed by dependence on foreign software and hardware and assessed that foreign-sourced systems used in critical infrastructure may pose a serious security challenge in times of a crisis, and Türkiye should boost locally made solutions against “technological domination” from abroad. They discussed cyber threats, which have evolved into tools to engineer public opinion, and how psychological warfare elements and disinformation have been more prevalent. They stressed steps taken to ensure special protection against cyberattacks for critical sectors from energy, health care, finance, defense industry, transportation and media. The board agreed to maximize the coordination between public agencies and enhance the rapid response capacity against cyber threats.
The meeting was a confirmation of Türkiye’s ambitions to be an actor in cybersecurity with deterrent power, instead of remaining merely a defender in cyberspace. It also confirmed that Türkiye would position itself as a country determining its own fate in the digital world and a country where any digital infiltration and attack would be costly for its perpetrators.
Türkiye’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will launch its congress process on May 19 in Samsun’s Ilkadım district, linking the event symbolically to the anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s arrival in the Black Sea city that marked the beginning of country’s War of Independence.
MHP Deputy Chairperson Semih Yalçın announced the decision in a written statement on Tuesday, saying the date and location were chosen to reflect both the spirit of the national struggle and the party’s political vision of a “terror-free Türkiye.”
“The First Step Congress coinciding with the 107th anniversary of Atatürk’s arrival in Samsun carries symbolic significance,” Yalçın said. “Samsun’s Ilkadım represents the spirit of the National Struggle, the reflex that gives life to the idea of a terror-free Türkiye, and the determination for national survival embodied by the nationalist movement.”
The congress process follows a decision made during the party’s Central Executive Board meeting on April 27, with local congresses officially beginning on May 7 ahead of the party’s grand congress scheduled for March 7, 2027.
Yalçın described the phrase “first step” as a historic concept associated with freedom, independence and national unity, referring to Atatürk’s arrival in Samsun on May 19, 1919, to organize resistance against occupying forces following World War I.
He said the MHP frequently uses concepts rooted in Turkish history to strengthen political dialogue and public engagement.
Yalçın also linked the congress theme to MHP leader Devlet Bahceli’s recent calls for a “Terror-Free Türkiye,” describing the initiative as a major political step aimed at reinforcing national unity amid growing regional instability and security threats.
“In a period when terrorism has been used as a political tool and external threats against Türkiye’s national survival are increasing, Devlet Bahçeli’s call for a terror-free Türkiye is a massive first step toward national consensus,” he said.
The senior MHP official argued that recent developments across the Middle East have validated the party’s emphasis on strengthening the nation-state structure.
“As the MHP, we see a strong nation-state structure not only for Türkiye but also for all threatened regional states as an antidote to colonialism,” Yalçın said.
He added that preserving the state structures of countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon was also vital for Türkiye’s own security.
The MHP is part of Türkiye’s ruling alliance alongside the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and has played a central role in nationalist and security-focused political discourse in recent years.
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