The fifth day of hearings in the sweeping corruption case against Istanbul’s suspended mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, ended abruptly Monday after a dispute over courtroom seating escalated into disruptions involving opposition lawmakers and defense lawyers.

The hearing at the Marmara Prison and Courthouse Complex in Istanbul’s Silivri district lasted only minutes before the presiding judge suspended proceedings following heated arguments over where several lawyers and political figures were allowed to sit.

After an hourlong break, the judicial panel did not return to the courtroom. A court officer later informed lawyers that the session had been postponed until Tuesday.

The trial involves 407 defendants, including 107 who remain in detention, and centers on allegations of a wide-ranging corruption network linked to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). Prosecutors accuse Imamoğlu of leading a criminal organization that orchestrated bribery, bid-rigging and fraud schemes tied to municipal contracts.

Monday’s session had been expected to continue with the defense of detainee Ümit Polat’s legal team, followed by statements from several other defendants, including Ağaç Inc. employee Fatih Yağcı and business figures Ali Üner and Evren Şirolu.

Instead, tensions erupted before proceedings fully began.

Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Turan Taşkın Özer entered the courtroom wearing a lawyer’s robe and said he was attending in his capacity as a legal professional. Gendarmerie officers instructed him to move to the public gallery, saying he was not registered as a defense attorney in the case.

Özer refused, arguing that he had come as a lawyer and had the right to remain in the defense section of the courtroom.

The dispute continued as the panel entered the chamber. The presiding judge ordered lawyers without formal authorization in the case to sit in the spectator section, but several remained in the defense area.

As arguments intensified, the judge announced a recess and ordered the defendants temporarily removed from the courtroom.

Another CHP lawmaker, Mahmut Tanal, further heightened tensions by removing a handcuff used to secure a barrier separating the press and spectators, further disrupting the proceedings.

The confrontation forced the court to suspend the hearing shortly after it began. About an hour later, a court clerk returned to the courtroom and announced that the session would resume the following day.

Security around the courthouse had already been tightened before Monday’s hearing following disruptions during earlier sessions. Authorities set up checkpoints roughly 500 meters from the prison complex, stopping vehicles and restricting access to the courthouse area. Only journalists carrying official press accreditation were allowed into the building.

The trial marks the second week of hearings in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest corruption investigations involving a Turkish municipality.

The indictment, completed in November 2025, spans more than 3,800 pages and accuses Imamoğlu and dozens of municipal officials, business figures and associates of participating in an organized network that allegedly manipulated public tenders and siphoned off large sums from municipal projects.

Prosecutors say the alleged scheme caused public losses totaling around TL 161 billion ($3.6 billion) through 143 acts involving bribery, fraud and other offenses.

Imamoğlu, who was removed from office and jailed pending trial, is described in the indictment as the “leader of a criminal organization for profit.” The charges against him include forming and leading a criminal organization, bribery, bid-rigging, fraud against public institutions, laundering criminal proceeds and illegally obtaining and distributing personal data.

If convicted on all counts linked to 142 alleged acts, he could face prison sentences ranging from about 828 years to more than 2,300 years.

Imamoğlu and his main opposition party deny the accusations.

The court began hearing the case on March 9 and has been taking testimony from detained defendants. During the first week of proceedings, suspects including former officials and municipal employees presented their defenses before the court.

According to the defense schedule prepared by the court, hearings are expected to continue with statements from additional defendants connected to allegations involving the municipal company Ağaç Inc. once the trial resumes.

Proceedings will pause later this week due to the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Despite Monday’s brief session, the case is expected to stretch over months as judges hear testimony from hundreds of suspects and examine evidence tied to the sprawling investigation into alleged corruption within the municipality.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“A bloodthirsty network continues striking schools and hospitals in Iran and Lebanon as it did in Gaza,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at an event held for the March 14 Medicine Day at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Medicine. Erdoğan’s remarks were a continuation of his relentless criticism of Israel’s “genocidal regime,” whose attacks claimed tens of thousands of lives since October 2023.

Speaking about the escalating regional tensions, Erdoğan said Türkiye stands among the countries advocating reason, dialogue and diplomacy.

“Against this state of madness, Türkiye is among the leading countries defending humanity, advocating reason, and seeking solutions to crises through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

Referring to the humanitarian toll of the conflict in Gaza, Erdoğan said the world has witnessed scenes where human life is disregarded and civilians, including babies in incubators and children sent to school with smiles, have been killed in bombings. He said during the Gaza war, doctors, nurses and other health care workers were also targeted, with nearly 1,700 health care personnel killed as a result of Israel’s “state terror.”

Regional tensions have flared since Israel and the U.S. launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 150 children at a girls’ elementary school. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries, which it says are targeting “U.S. military assets.”

Erdoğan said Türkiye’s approach to regional developments is guided by humanitarian values and justice rather than geopolitical or economic interests.

“We will maintain our humanitarian stance that looks at events not through the value of oil, gold, natural gas or minerals, but through the lens of justice, compassion, mercy and human dignity,” he said.

Speaking about the value of human life, Erdoğan also cited Verse 32 of Surah Al-Ma’idah in the Quran, which states that saving a life is akin to saving all humanity.

He emphasized that Türkiye’s governing philosophy places the protection of human life at its core, recalling the principle, “Let the people live so that the state may live.”

The Israeli military recently warned that it may strike ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon, which it said were being used “unlawfully” by Hezbollah, though it did not provide evidence for the claim. A Hezbollah official said that the group was not using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request to provide evidence that Hezbollah was ⁠using medical facilities or ‌ambulances “unlawfully.” At least ‌26 medics and first responders have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, according to the ⁠Lebanese Health Ministry. The Israeli military says it takes precautions to try to reduce any harm ‌to civilians.

On Friday, Israeli aircraft dropped flyers over Beirut threatening to inflict damage on Lebanon similar to the devastation wrought on Gaza during Israel’s two-year war with Hamas. Much of ​Gaza has been reduced to rubble, and its population ⁠killed and largely displaced.

During its genocidal campaign in Gaza, Israel launched numerous raids and attacks on hospitals, claiming they were ⁠being used by Hamas. Hamas has denied embedding among Gaza’s civilians.

Civilian infrastructure, including ⁠medical facilities, are protected sites under international ​law. Both attacking hospitals and their use for military purposes are typically considered a breach of law, though they can lose their protected status under certain conditions.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The U.S.-Israel-Iran war has no prospects of ending any time soon, as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan acknowledged that there was no serious initiative to resume negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but he added that he believed Iran was open to back-channel talks.

The comments by Fidan to The Associated Press (AP) in an exclusive interview came as Ankara is striving to stay out of the widening war in the Middle East.

Ankara, which has good relations with both Washington and Tehran, had attempted to mediate a solution between them before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran two weeks ago, triggering the war.

“The conditions are not very much conducive” to diplomacy now, Fidan said. The Iranians “feel betrayed” because for a second time they were attacked while in active negotiations with the U.S. over their nuclear program, he said, but added, “I think they are open to any sensible back-channel diplomacy.”

Fidan served as Türkiye’s intelligence chief for more than a decade before being appointed foreign minister in 2023. In that role, he played a key part in shaping Türkiye’s policy in the Middle East, particularly toward Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Türkiye has maintained a neutral position in the war, criticizing both the U.S and Israeli strikes against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory actions against Gulf states that host U.S. bases. Fidan said he has been attempting to persuade the Iranians to halt those attacks.

Fidan said Türkiye’s top priority is to remain outside of the conflict, even after three missiles believed to come from Iran were intercepted over Türkiye by NATO defenses. Türkiye is a NATO member, and an air base in southern Türkiye is used by NATO forces, including U.S. troops.

Iranian officials have insisted that they did not fire at Türkiye, although the available data shows that the missiles came from Iran, the Turkish foreign minister said.

He ruled out a military response at this stage, saying that NATO’s defenses were effective and that Ankara’s “primary objective” is to stay out of the conflict.

“I know that we are being provoked and we will be provoked, but this is our objective,” he said. “We want to stay out of this war.”

Fidan, who has regular contact with Iranian officials, said he does not know the severity of the wounds suffered by Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in a strike earlier in the war, but that, “What we know is that he is alive and functioning.” Khamenei was appointed to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 during the war’s opening salvo. Fidan said “the process of electing a new leader and the medical conditions of the new leader, it created a gap” in Iran’s power structure, and “I think that gap has been filled by the high command of the Revolutionary Guards,” referring to the paramilitary force reporting to the Supreme Leader.

Before the conflict, Türkiye tried to avert a war by offering to host talks in Istanbul that would have brought the U.S., Iran and other regional countries together. Iran later opted for talks mediated by Oman, without the participation of regional actors and focusing solely on its nuclear program, talks that ultimately failed.

Fidan said that Iran had refused to discuss its missile program and the proxy armed groups it backs in the region, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and a group of Iraqi militias, both of which have now waded into the regional war.

Türkiye had proposed that “the Americans and the Iranians can discuss the nuclear issue fully, and we as regional countries can come together to discuss the other two with Iran” as part of an initiative to build trust within the region.

Türkiye and Israel have tense relations, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan becoming one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Türkiye has cut trade ties with Israel and frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide.

Since Israel launched its strikes on Iran, some have gone as far as to suggest that Türkiye could be the next target. Fidan dismissed that possibility, while acknowledging that the war in Iran gave Türkiye an increased incentive to step up its own production of weapons and air defenses.

“As long as Netanyahu is there, (Israel) will always identify somebody as an enemy,” he said. “Because they need it to advance their own agenda. If not Türkiye, they would name some other country in the region.”

He criticized Israel’s role elsewhere in the region, including in Syria, where both countries have strategic interests.

Türkiye has been a strong backer of the current government in Damascus, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Since the new Syrian government took power in December 2024, Israeli forces have seized control of a swathe of land in southern Syria and launched airstrikes on Syrian military facilities, wiping out much of the country’s arsenal. Israel has said its presence in Syria is meant to secure its border from attacks.

Israel after more land

“They are after not security, they are after more land,” Fidan said. “So as long as they don’t give up this idea, there will always be a war in the Middle East.”

Türkiye has also sought to play an active role in postwar Gaza. It has joined U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and has offered to supply troops for an international stabilization force in the battered enclave.

Fidan said it was important for Türkiye to join the Board of Peace, as an “opportunity” to stop the war, although “we are not under the illusion that the Board of Peace will address all the existing issues.”

Fidan said Türkiye has not received a request to contribute troops to the stabilization force, which he attributed to the Israeli opposition, but added, “I think the Americans are quietly trying to settle the issue with the Israelis to allow Türkiye to participate.”

Fidan said, however, that Türkiye’s priority was the establishment of an administration committee for Gaza, which is to be made up of 15 politically independent Palestinian administrators.

“We expect them to go into Gaza and start their work,” he said. “This has not started yet, so we need to start from somewhere.”

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Devlet Bahçeli, chairperson of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), had candid remarks regarding the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran war and cautioned that Türkiye and other regional countries stand to lose without measures.

Addressing the mayors of his party at an event in Ankara on Saturday evening, Bahçeli said “an uncontrolled weakening or dissolution” in Iran would not be merely a domestic issue of Iran. “It has the potential to generating a belt of instability in the regional countries. What Türkiye faces is not simply a potential crisis on the border. This is an outlook that may directly affect national security, border security and overall regional stability,” he said.

Türkiye has been the target of missiles during the ongoing conflict but no casualties or damage were reported so far after the NATO defense systems intercepted the missiles. Ankara hinted that its patience may run out if the conflict fully spills over into its territory but always championed diplomacy to resolve the conflict. Türkiye holds a leading position in the region as a country with good ties, both with Tehran and Washington.

In 2024, Bahçeli prophesied that Israel’s expansionist policies in the region may turn to Türkiye eventually and proposed a terror-free Türkiye initiative, to get rid of the PKK terrorism that had affected the country for more than four decades. The initiative was a bid to strengthen Turkish-Kurdish unity as Bahçeli said earlier, to form a “home front” against the Israeli aggression. The initiative is still underway and Ankara monitors the full dissolution of the terrorist group, which made a landmark decision to dissolve itself last year. The PKK, which claims to fight for so-called Kurdish self-rule, is associated with similar groups in Syria and Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump recently voiced that he favored those “Kurdish” groups to join the fight against Tehran though he later backtracked.

In his speech on Saturday, Bahçeli said the Middle East has long been the home of “conflicts among proxies” but the situation has changed now, creating new risks for every actor in the region. Bahçeli noted that post-World War I status quo established by United Kingdom and partially by France in the region was built on “explicitly drawn borders and security mechanisms relying abroad.”

“Today, the U.S.’ strategic approach that puts Israel on its center attempts to redesign the security in the region. It is the second time that the fate of the Middle East faces an attempt to redesign it with foreign intervention,” he warned.

Bahçeli pointed to the past decade of civil war in neighboring Syria and urged people to learn lessons. “When the central authority is weakened, armed groups, proxy groups, irregular migration, unregistered economy thrive and the country becomes a field feasible for foreign intervention. We should see what is happening in Iran in the same manner,” he said.

Delving into Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon, Bahçeli said Lebanon was almost a scaled-down model of the situation in the greater Middle East. “Looking past the ongoing conflict over Lebanon, we see a history of the Ottoman rule, a period of foreign mandates, a civil war, the 2006 crisis and other situations that demonstrate the loss of internal balance is quickly followed by foreign intervention. The foreign intervention lessens a country’s own might. When you lose the power, armed groups trump the state authority. This is what is unfolding in Lebanon again,” he said.

“At this point, a clear question must be asked: If the Palestinian (territories) has effectively been reduced and fragmented into a limited space, where will the next line of pressure emerge?” he said. “The answer is not difficult to see. Lebanon is increasingly becoming a target. This development represents a serious geopolitical rupture not only for Lebanon but for the entire Eastern Mediterranean.”

Bahçeli emphasized that Lebanon is also one of the key junctions of the Eastern Mediterranean. He described Beirut as more than just a capital, calling it a major gateway where trade, culture and geopolitics have intersected throughout history.

Saying the country and its capital constitute one of the most sensitive links in the region’s balance, Bahçeli argued that the issue of Lebanon can no longer be addressed solely within the narrow framework of current conflicts.

“Bolder and more comprehensive options that would strengthen Lebanon’s state capacity, reinforce its sovereignty and ensure lasting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean must be openly discussed,” he said. “Strengthening Lebanon internally, establishing regional stability mechanisms and, if necessary, evaluating new political and economic cooperation opportunities with neighboring regions is now an urgent need that can no longer be postponed.

“The reality is this: If Lebanon, our maritime neighbor, collapses, it would not be just one country that collapses, a new belt of instability would emerge in the Eastern Mediterranean. If Beirut falls, it would not be only a city that is wounded, the geopolitical balance of the region would be shaken. For this reason, the Lebanon issue is not solely Lebanon’s problem. It is also a strategic matter directly linked to the future of the region and the security of Türkiye,” he noted.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş is cautiously optimistic about the terror-free Türkiye initiative to end years of PKK terrorism. Also the chair of the Parliament’s terror-free committee, formally known as the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee, Kurtulmuş came together with representatives of Turkish media outlets on Saturday.

“This is not like 2013 or any other process,” Kurtulmuş was quoted by journalists, referring to government-sponsored efforts in the past to end PKK terrorism. The “reconciliation process,” as it was known, sought to curb the PKK’s influence on the Kurdish community and address the rights issues the terrorist group exploited. It ultimately collapsed in a few years, but Türkiye pursues a more dedicated approach to the matter now as part of the initiative launched in 2024. Unlike the previous process, where the PKK consented to a unilateral “truce,” the group this time agreed to dissolve itself. Yet, full dissolution is yet to be confirmed.

Kurtulmuş said another failure in ending the existence of the PKK would inflict a heavy toll on “politics.” “We may face a direr situation. We are now going through times of conflict in the region, and there are circles ready to stoke the burning fire,” he said.

He said the initiative was mainly shaped as a response to the developments in the region, referring to calls by its architects, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli to create a “home front” to confront the threats. “Nothing is incidental in this region. The process, which began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq, triggered another process for ethnic and sectarian divide. Many countries suffered as a consequence. We have to revert this. Türkiye paid a heavy toll in terrorism and we have to act swiftly. Zionism is raising the stakes and we cannot ignore this. They try to deal a final blow to the region. They tried it with civil wars in Lebanon and Syria, they tried it with swift regime changes in the region. They planned the final stage of their plan by targeting Gaza. The Greater Israel Project’s main target is Türkiye. So, we have to reinforce the country, the home front,” he said.

Kurtulmuş hailed that the committee he chaired managed to agree on a joint text that will serve as a road map for Parliament on taking the next steps in the terror-free Türkiye initiative. Parliament is expected to introduce new bills or amend the laws to facilitate the disarmament of the terrorist group. Kurtulmuş said the legislation process should be swift, adding that the issue would likely be on the agenda of Parliament after the upcoming Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr or Ramadan Bayram. He stated that confirmation of the PKK’s full disarmament by Turkish security forces was a precondition for legislative steps. “Once this is confirmed, the legal regulations may be implemented,” he said.

He noted that Türkiye already had laws for offering lenient sentencing for members of terrorist groups cooperating with authorities. “But it is the first time that a terrorist group has decided to dissolve itself. Thus, we need new regulations. We agreed on legal proceedings for members of the group if they apply for lenient sentencing or parole, to have a court record. This will prevent the perception that (PKK members) would benefit from an amnesty. Sentencing will remain, but they will be released based on parole conditions if they turn themselves in and renounce membership of PKK,” he said.

Kurtulmuş said one of the most important gains in the initiative has been that all political parties were able to gather around the same table and “reach a conclusion through a very mature democratic negotiation method.” He said this may be the reason that the initiative has been successful so far. “(Presidents and Prime Ministers) Süleyman Demirel, Turgut Özal, Necmettin Erbakan and Erdal Inönü pursued similar initiatives to end PKK terrorism. They succeeded to an extent but ultimately, they failed. Among several factors contributing to the failures was the lack of a political unity,” he said. As for “other factors,” Kurtulmuş gave examples about the recent reconciliation process. “Just when it seemed that a result would almost be achieved, the process was poisoned, be it by killings of Sakine Cansız and others or leaking of the Oslo talks,” he said, referring to murders of top PKK figures in Paris in 2013 and the controversial leak of talks between Turkish officials and PKK-linked names in Norway. “FETÖ members and other elements in the state played a role in undermining that process,” Kurtulmuş said, in reference to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which had infiltrators in almost every state institution and tried to overthrow the government in 2016 with a military coup attempt.

“One of the most important advantages of the current process is that all institutions and organizations of the state are moving in the same direction and the process is continuing with strong coordination,” Kurtulmuş said.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Marking the International Day to Combat Islamophobia and commemorating victims of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called for stronger global action against intolerance and discrimination targeting Muslims.

In a statement on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, the Foreign Ministry said the seventh anniversary of the March 15, 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, was being observed with respect for the victims.

Fifty-one victims were killed and 40 injured at the Al-Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019, in New Zealand’s deadliest-ever mass shooting.

The ministry recalled that 51 people, including a Turkish citizen, were killed in the attack on two mosques in Christchurch, describing the incident as a heinous act of terrorism.

“On the seventh anniversary of the despicable terrorist attack that took place on March 15, 2019, in Christchurch, we commemorate with respect the 51 people who lost their lives, including one of our citizens, and pray for God’s mercy upon them,” the statement said.

The ministry stressed that the international community must take a firm and unified stance against intolerance, discrimination and violence targeting Muslims across the world.

It said the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, observed on March 15, also serves as a reminder of the shared responsibility to confront crimes committed against human dignity.

Türkiye will continue contributing to international cooperation in the fight against all forms of racism and discrimination, the statement added.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted by consensus in 2022 a resolution declaring March 15 as International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said in a statement on the occasion that Türkiye would remain committed to defend humanity’s honor, equality and supremacy of law in the face of all types of discrimination, Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia.

Gürlek said in a social media post on Sunday that Islamophobia was not merely a “phobia” but beyond that, it was a grave issue laying bare the prejudice, discrimination and blatant hostility.

”This phobia is in fact, mostly, oppositon to Islam and enmity towards Islam. Being bothered by minarets, headscarves or any other public display of a faith cannot be explained away as phobia,” Gürlek said.

He stated that targeting people because of their faith, identity or culture, or insulting their places of worship, symbols and values contradicted humanity’s dignity.

”Enmity towards Islam and Muslims should be steadfastly rejected. It is our common responsibility to fight against racism and discrimination threatening social peace and common future, to strengthen an understanding centered on dignity and mutual respect which views diversity as wealth,” he stated.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.