Politics
‘Cyber warfare ministry’ fights emerging front of new Türkiye
A future Cyber Warfare Ministry is in the works in Ankara. The Cybersecurity Directorate of the Turkish Presidency, established last year, is the first stage of this concept. This ministry will likely bring together preventive intelligence, philosophical intelligence and hybrid intelligence models. A report by professor Talha Köse, director of the National Intelligence Academy, published this month, depicts the doctrinal basis of this structure. Essentially, a new Türkiye creates a new front.
The vision of the Cyber Warfare Ministry is what is required to protect the future of Türkiye. The Cybersecurity Directorate today is the core of this structure, and it will be necessary to upgrade it to the ministry level in the future. As much as there is a need to protect the land, skies and seas of this country, there is a need to protect the children from the dangers on the screens of cellphones.
The Cybersecurity Directorate is now authorized across the digital state and the public sector, meaning the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) is no longer the cybersecurity regulator. The BTK has handed over all authority and the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM) to the new directorate. In December 2025, the digital state, the operation of the e-government service, artificial intelligence in the public sector and data management were brought under one roof. At the helm of this new structure is a valuable person whom I once worked with in the same venue: Ümit Önal. Önal served as CEO at Türk Telekom for about seven years after his tenure in Turkuvaz Media, before his appointment to his new strategic tenure on Oct. 24, 2025, by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. His remarks at the STRATCOM 2026 summit are a testament to the new doctrinal basis: “Cybersecurity is now a matter of national security.”
Philosophical intelligence
This doctrinal basis is laid out by Köse in his April 2026 report. Köse’s presence is no coincidence. The National Intelligence Academy has positioned itself as the only academic hub generating doctrines in the Turkish intelligence ecosystem. Here is a key sentence from the report: “The biggest risk in the era of artificial intelligence is not merely a lack of access to technology, but weaknesses exhibited in coordination, human resources, and an unevenly distributed decision-making network.”
Köse highlights that the real danger is a lack of coordination, not the failure to have foreign technologies. The common feature of the school shootings in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa, which had digital traces, was the failure to see the whole picture. Red flags were there, and they were noticed by probably 10 different agencies. Nevertheless, seeing the big picture was impossible. Another statement in the report further delves into the doctrine: “The real necessity is seeing the risks beforehand and taking all institutional measures in a timely manner.”
A philosophical intelligence doctrine makes up the basis of this statement: a superior mindset that can detect the nature and root of the threat and the cultural or philosophical ground that gave rise to that threat.
It is not enough to trace technical tracks of the attack; you should understand what worldview motivated the assailant. You have to see through the meaning to understand the intention, to discover the unseen. This is what Köse tries to explain as philosophical intelligence understanding. It is not sufficient to learn the lessons from the school shootings; you have to know all about it before it happens and prevent it.
Hybrid intelligence
What we face as threats are hybrid in nature, a multilayered type of attack combining digital and physical elements, as well as economic and human nature aspects. Take a phishing attack targeting a research and development center, for instance. It might be a combined attack in the form of a LinkedIn contact, a conference invitation, a subcontractor tender and state intelligence working simultaneously.
A cyber warfare ministry has to establish a three-tier architecture working in synchronization, including tracks provided by human intelligence working in the field, digital patterns captured by signals intelligence and patterns mined from data by open-source intelligence (OSINT). Frankly, the raw data feeds from the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), police intelligence and gendarmerie intelligence would not signal a cohesive risk unless the information is effectively processed, which is the task of the Cybersecurity Directorate. Hybrid intelligence is the ability to see the whole picture moment by moment.
Invisible shield
In the last decade, Türkiye has built a historic arsenal, from Bayraktar TB2, Akıncı, Kızılelma and Hürjet to Atmaca and Kaan. Yet, the protective shield of this superiority is often underdiscussed. It is counterespionage in cyberspace. A recent case proves this point. Iran’s Shahed-136 drone was rebranded by Russia as Geran-2 and was employed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These systems shot down in Ukrainian airspace were dismantled by Western intelligence engineers, their software was decrypted, their supply chain was mapped, and all were reverse-engineered. The result was that secrets of Iran’s own weapons were an open book for rival intelligence services, and this information was directly used against Iran and its allies in the recent U.S.-Israel-Iran war.
The doctrinal lesson is clear: A state could see its weapons acting as a boomerang, harming it when it fails to protect itself in cyberspace. Espionage to expose its software architecture, control protocols, GPS routes and supply chains leads to the same outcome as the physical theft of the weapon. A successful electronic infiltration can deliver the secrets of your superiority to your rivals. Accomplishments of the Bayraktar TB2 in Karabakh and Ukraine, and the efficiency of Akıncı in Syria and Libya, rendered Türkiye one of the high-profile targets of technological espionage. Thus, Aselsan, Roketsan, TUSAŞ, Baykar, Havelsan, TUBİTAK Sage, MKE and dozens of subcontractors should operate under the same cyber shield.
This shield goes beyond conventional defense and includes counter-espionage. Rather than focusing on preventing the attack, it concentrates on detecting the assailant, tracking it and setting up a trap to read the opponent’s intentions, and when necessary, infiltrating the electronic systems of the opponent. Türkiye has to achieve this capacity to prevent a repeat of what happened to Iran’s Shahed. The arsenal Türkiye built in the past decade can only be beneficial with the cyber shield it can build within the next decade.
How the system should work
The shooting in Kahramanmaraş took place at a school, but it actually started somewhere thousands of miles away, in terms of the digital world. Online groups feeding the thoughts of the assailant and other networks involved in other murders have sprouted in the digital world. After the incident, 940 social media accounts were shut down, 1,866 websites were blocked, and 111 Telegram groups were removed. However, the issue was how, by whom and with what authority this network can be monitored. What matters is that this should take place before the attack itself.
First, preventive measures should be at the highest level. Türkiye’s data architecture is scattered across different agencies. Sensing cyber threats against our children is possible with a holistic approach. The Cybersecurity Directorate can use AI and Big Data authorization to detect a culture of violence emerging and growing in closed groups. Preventive measures are not a blackout of screens after an incident; they involve detecting the signals of danger before it happens.
Second, the inspection mechanism should function. A state’s power is measured through its view beyond plain sight. The Cybersecurity Directorate is now tasked with marking the limits against next-generation threats, such as fake voice recordings and videos, holding platforms, gaming groups and social media companies thriving on children accountable.
Third, the authority should have the power to shut down threats. If you cannot inspect a platform, you should shut it down. China’s hard intervention model in the digital space can be considered controversial if you look at it through the lens of democratic tradition. But I think the courage of taking hard, preventive measures cannot be disputed when it comes to the safety of our children. Türkiye should adapt to this model: inspecting whatever we can and shutting down whatever we can’t. Seeking a third option means paying the price.
Another necessity is reducing bandwidth, which is an effective tool, landing somewhere between shutting down and monitoring. Deliberate reduction of traffic to a platform has been an efficient method to bring companies not complying with decisions of content removal to the negotiation table swiftly. Bandwidth reduction should be part of a gradual plan: first, a warning, then fines, then bandwidth reduction, and finally, complete shutdown. I might be judged and deemed too anti-democratic, but I am open to such criticism, as this is a matter of slaughtered, innocent children.
The fifth point for the system to work is setting up “hotlines” between MIT, police intelligence and gendarmerie intelligence. This grouping should be able to see signs of escalating violence. When an extremist network emerges, MIT’s external intelligence should work in synchronization with the Cybersecurity Directorate’s digital tracking system. Amid a threat at a school, police intelligence should be able to be in the field within minutes. When a terror link is detected in a rural area, gendarmerie intelligence should be able to access data immediately.
These links between agencies should also be physical. All three intelligence agencies should have permanent liaison offices within the Cybersecurity Directorate, and they should remain open around the clock to defend the country.
Another essential component of the system is judges and prosecutors alert against threats. The Cybersecurity Directorate’s authority only means something when it is combined with swift legal action and proper legitimacy. The biggest obstacle in emergency intervention in cyberspace is red tape between the agencies. Time consumed by the bureaucracy is time stolen from the life of a child. An independent legal department working around the clock should be established at the Cybersecurity Directorate in the legal framework supported by legal regulations of the Justice Ministry. Cybersecurity prosecutors and judges should work on the same floor, next to each other.
The system should work this way: Critical demands by MIT, police intelligence and gendarmerie intelligence are delivered to cybersecurity prosecutors specialized in the field. The prosecutor immediately handles the request, forms the legal basis and applies to the judge. The judge issues a verdict, and the technical crew working on the same floor applies the verdict within seconds. Then, intelligence staff expands nationwide monitoring.
There is only one way out of the dilemma of “swift but illegal” and “legal but slow,” namely, a swift, legal, democratic and vigilant system. Every minute a judge is absent means inaction of the state, and every moment a judge is present indicates the state’s strategic power. If the assailant is awake all the time, the state should be too.
The digital defense of schools is another matter. The school management systems, e-school infrastructure and counseling service records should be protected under one roof. A counselor’s warning about a child should not be lost in the cracks in the system.
Lastly, artificial intelligence should reach out to the family. The most tangible task of the Public Artificial Intelligence General Directorate will be producing tools for a healthy reading of children’s digital footprints for parents and educators. A change in behavioral patterns or tendency to join closed groups can be relayed to the families as early warning signals.
Time for cyber warfare ministry
Children today live in two worlds, the one with real-world streets, schools and houses, and one with a screen, apps and online groups. The state focused on the first one for decades. The shooting in Kahramanmaraş demonstrated that this second world has been an invisible challenge. The Cybersecurity Directorate is the state’s mark in this second world. We have to ensure genuine cyber protection for the future of Türkiye. We have no time to lose. The architecture to protect this country has been largely built. Now is the time to activate it with vigilant cybersecurity prosecutors and judges in the legal department of the Cybersecurity Directorate, intelligence liaison offices working around the clock, a gradual system of sanctions, a willingness to enforce shutdowns and a bandwidth reduction option.
The current structure of the directorate, regardless of its comprehensive authority, may not be sufficient against future challenges. In an era where AI has become deeply embedded in military systems, economic infrastructure, collective memory and everyday life, it is necessary to fight across a wide front, from autonomous weapon systems to digital propaganda, from biometric data wars to infiltration operations based on machine learning. The world is rapidly becoming mechanized, and threats are becoming mechanized just as quickly. In such an age, an ordinary directorate is not enough for a nation to protect itself.
If the air force protects the skies, the navy the seas and the land forces the land, then the structure that will protect the cyber domain can only be organized as a ministry, acting as a wartime agency and with the discipline of an army unit. The Cybersecurity Directorate will be the core of a future Cyber Warfare Ministry, like the National Security Agency (NSA) of the U.S., an entity that can see and think of everything on a global scale.
Turkish authorities detained six suspects Thursday in a second wave of an investigation into alleged bribery and extortion at Istanbul’s Beykoz Municipality, prosecutors said.
The Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for eight suspects as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of bribery and extortion linked to the tenure of former Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler, who was previously suspended from office.
According to prosecutors, the latest operation was launched based on evidence collected during the investigation, statements from complainants and testimony provided by suspects under Türkiye’s effective remorse provisions.
The suspects include businesspeople, a Beykoz municipal council member and former municipal employees who are alleged to have participated in the offenses under investigation.
Six suspects were detained during coordinated police raids, while efforts to locate and apprehend the remaining two suspects are ongoing.
The investigation remains underway.
Earlier this month, former Beykoz Mayor Köseler was arrested as part of the investigation into alleged bribery, extortion and zoning-related corruption. Prosecutors said the case was supported by witness testimony and statements given under Türkiye’s effective remorse provisions.
Dozens of mayors and municipal bureaucrats from Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were detained or arrested in the past two years in investigations focusing on corruption. The majority of allegations involve bribery in return for construction permits, which are otherwise subject to strict regulations, and rigging the lucrative tenders of municipalities.
While the CHP is facing internal chaos and a leadership crisis between the former head, Özgür Özel, and CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has seen a stream of new transfers in the past two years.
Since the 2024 elections, 15 mayors have left their parties and joined the AK Party. Most of them were formerly members of the CHP.
Türkiye’s military has strengthened its institutional structure, rebuilt its education system and restored critical personnel capacity in the decade since the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and the head of the National Defense University said.
Speaking to Sabah newspaper, Güler said that the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) was continuing without interruption and with the same determination shown in its immediate aftermath.
He said 24,008 personnel had been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) while the ranks of 2,198 retired personnel had been revoked as part of investigations into alleged links to the group.
“The most important issue for the Turkish Armed Forces is not the figures, but the uncompromising continuation of the struggle against this treacherous structure that attempted to infiltrate the state,” Güler noted.
He said new information and documents were being evaluated in coordination with relevant institutions and that judicial procedures were being carried out with what he described as great sensitivity.
“Our struggle against those who betrayed our state and nation will continue with the same determination until not a single affiliated member remains,” he stressed.
The minister described July 15 as one of the darkest nights in the country’s history, but also as one of its most significant democratic resistance movements.
He said the attempt was defeated through the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, public resistance and the efforts of members of the security forces and military who remained loyal to the constitutional order.
“The nation showed the entire world that it would never surrender to any center of tutelage or act of betrayal.”
Underlining that the central lesson of the failed coup was the need to preserve national unity and solidarity, Güler added that the military introduced extensive reforms over the past decade in recruitment, professional military education, career planning and internal oversight.
He said a personnel system built around merit, discipline, transparency and the rule of law had helped the armed forces become more effective, respected and capable of deterrence.
FETÖ had sought to weaken the military’s institutional structure, undermine unity of command and damage public confidence in the armed forces, but had failed to achieve those aims, according to him.
He recalled that the military was currently conducting some of the most extensive operations in its history, including border security missions, counterterrorism operations, maritime deployments and international assignments.
Citing domestically produced defense technology, improved training standards and qualified personnel as factors that had increased the military’s operational capacity, Güler said planned recruitment and training programs had largely resolved the shortage and that the air force was now capable of conducting its missions inside Türkiye and across its borders.
Furthermore, National Defense University (MSÜ) Rector Erhan Afyoncu said the military education system had to be effectively rebuilt from the ground up, describing the coup attempt as more than a conventional military takeover, calling it an attempt by an espionage network to occupy Türkiye and provoke civil war.
He noted the group had gradually placed members in military high schools and academies beginning in the 1970s, intensifying those efforts after 1980.
According to Afyoncu, the network recruited children, prepared them for military careers and helped them rise through the ranks, while allegedly forcing out students who were not affiliated with the group.
He said unusually high numbers of dismissals from military schools before 2016 should have raised concerns among senior commanders.
Afyoncu said about 16,000 students were removed from military schools following the coup attempt, leaving the system without a functioning structure.
The National Defense University was established later that month, bringing army, navy and air force education institutions under a single civilian-supervised organization.
Afyoncu said the new structure introduced joint civilian-military administration, revised curricula and courses on democracy, civil society, military history and what he called Turkish war philosophy.
He said the university’s curricula were also aligned with the standards of Türkiye’s Council of Higher Education and pointed out that public interest in military education remained high despite fears that families would be reluctant to send their children to military schools following the coup attempt.
“When we began accepting students only a few months after the coup, people came in large numbers,” he said. “The Turkish nation protected its own military education system.”
The university has since graduated nearly 67,000 officers and noncommissioned officers, he remarked, helping fill much of the personnel gap created by the dismissals.
Afyoncu said the graduates had enabled the military to maintain operations in multiple regions and continue naval and overseas deployments.
“Without those 67,000 graduates, these military operations could not have been carried out,” he said.
Afyoncu also added that Türkiye had expanded military education cooperation with partner countries. Foreign enrollment at the university had risen from students representing 16 countries at the time of its establishment to students from around 50 countries.
Similar military universities had also been established or were being developed in Azerbaijan, Syria and Uzbekistan, he noted.
Both Güler and Afyoncu said reforms were intended to prevent similar networks from infiltrating the military in the future.
Güler said the armed forces would continue to serve under the Constitution and laws, under civilian authority and in the service of the nation.
“We will continue working with the same determination and sacrifice for the security, independence and survival of our country,” he emphasized.
The ousted chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) reaffirmed that he is planning to found a new party next month.
Özgür Özel sought to end speculations about his political future in an interview with pro-CHP Sözcü TV on Wednesday, two days after he told journalists that he decided on the name of the new party before adding “just kidding!”
He appeared serious this time, telling the broadcaster that preparations were underway for the new political party. He said any formal step would wait until after ongoing legal proceedings. In May, Özel was ousted from office when a court annulled CHP’s 2023 congress that elected Özel as chairperson, citing allegations of fraud in favor of Özel in that vote. The court verdict also reinstated Özel’s predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. He was quick to proceed with his plans to restore the party’s image stained with allegations of corruption engulfing CHP mayors and Özel himself.
Özel’s supporters branded Kılıçdaroğlu as a “traitor” who sought to hinder CHP’s ambitions to win the next presidential race under Özel. Meanwhile, he repeatedly called on the Kılıçdaroğlu administration to hold another party congress, believing that he would win the intraparty election again. Currently, the party is practically divided into two, one camp supporting Kılıçdaroğlu and another one supporting Özel, who now holds the title of CHP’s parliamentary group chair.
Kılıçdaroğlu said in a recent interview that he opposed the split within the party. The Özel camp says that the former leader has a better chance in the next presidential election scheduled for 2028, based on opinion polls, while Kılıçdaroğlu, almost every week, removes the party’s top figures pledging loyalty to Özel through disciplinary action. The expulsions, at times, led to violent confrontations between supporters of Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu. In some provinces, provincial chairs of the party removed from their post by the Kılıçdaroğlu administration for their loyalty to Özel, refused to leave the office.
Özel said the legal proceedings on an appeal to the ruling that ousted his leadership and a request to hold an extraordinary party congress could be completed within a couple of weeks, and if they are blocked, a new party could then be set up.
“A formal step could be taken toward the end of July or the beginning of August,” Özel said when asked about the timing of the establishment of the new party.
He has been discreet about the new party as rumors were swirling and only hinted at it in speeches as he launched a campaign against the current CHP administration. The Özel camp has been quick to shoot down rumors that they would join an existing party instead of establishing a new one while Özel prioritized staying within CHP, to the chagrin of some supporters who urged him to act swiftly before losing the potential to run in the next general election.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership and the Turkish people’s unity were decisive in defeating the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, describing the events as a defining moment in Türkiye’s modern history.
In a message marking Türkiye’s Democracy and National Unity Day, Aliyev commemorated those killed while resisting the coup attempt and extended his condolences to their families and the Turkish people.
Aliyev described July 15 as one of the most tragic as well as one of the most honorable chapters in Türkiye’s recent history, saying the attempted coup targeted the country’s constitutional order, democratic institutions and national will.
He said the attempt was thwarted through what he called the Turkish people’s determination, courage and commitment to their country, citing Erdoğan’s leadership in helping steer Türkiye through the crisis.
Referring to the Turkish leader, “Your determined and farsighted leadership, together with the unity of your people around you and their immediate response to your calls, became one of the main factors that saved your country from a great disaster on that critical night,” Aliyev said in the message.
He added that Türkiye emerged stronger from the failed coup attempt and demonstrated the strength of its national will and state traditions.
Azerbaijani president said the events of July 15 showed that attempts to undermine the state could not succeed in the face of unity between the nation and the government. He described the annual commemoration as a symbol of the Turkish people’s solidarity, resilience and commitment to democratic institutions.
Reaffirming Azerbaijan’s support for Türkiye, Aliyev underlined that Baku stood in solidarity with Ankara during the coup attempt under the principle of “One nation, two states.”
He said that solidarity reflected the enduring brotherhood between the two countries and expressed confidence that their strategic alliance would continue to deepen through joint efforts.
Aliyev concluded his message by wishing Erdoğan good health and continued success, while expressing hopes for lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Türkiye.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined lawmakers for a commemoration event at Parliament on Wednesday, on the 10th anniversary of heroic resistance to the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Hailing the resistance to the coup by the nation and lawmakers who defied airstrikes targeting Parliament 10 years ago, Erdoğan warned that FETÖ was alive, especially in online black propaganda against Türkiye. He ruled out any possibility of amnesty for FETÖ members while emphasizing that the group continued collaboration with “enemies of Türkiye.”
“Though they failed 10 years ago, they are seeking to revive their sinister ambitions. They are cooperating with everyone hostile to the Turkish nation to avenge their failure,” Erdoğan said in reference to the terrorist group.
“(FETÖ) is using social media to incite strife. FETÖ terrorists are servants of Türkiye’s enemies,” he noted. Erdoğan stressed that they were lobbying in cooperation with anti-Turkish lobbies. “They are resorting to every lie to target Türkiye,” he said. Erdoğan said, “FETÖ terrorists who sold their souls for $1 are also servants of avowed enemies of Türkiye.” He was referring to $1 bills with a serial number starting with the letter F, which was used by secret members of FETÖ to recognize each other.
Erdoğan said that “the honorable nation made a sacrifice to disrupt the dirty plot” on July 15, 2016, and spoiled “the imperialist project.” The president linked the accomplishments of Türkiye in the past decade, from the defense industry to security and foreign policy, to the “removal of FETÖ” from the state institutions and other places they infiltrated into.
He noted that the 2024 death of FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen upset the motivation of the group, but they were still dangerous. “FETÖ threat is quarantined, but danger prevails. We are talking about a mindset pointing guns at this nation, we should remember that,” he said.
A group of members of the group calling themselves “Yeni (New) Herkul,” in reference to a website publishing Gülen’s so-called sermons in the past, have penned a public letter to Erdoğan and condemned the coup attempt while seeking to redeem themselves. Erdoğan did not openly mention the letter but was blunt in his opposition to FETÖ: “Mercy for the oppressor is oppression of the innocent. We should not fall for this,” he said.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Thursday that civil society organizations must operate transparently and remain subject to legal oversight regarding an ongoing investigation into the Ahbap charity, while authorities continue a probe into alleged financial crimes involving several members of the organization.
Speaking at the Judicial Evaluation Meeting attended by chief public prosecutors and heads of judicial commissions from all 81 provinces, Gürlek emphasized that no organization operating on public trust is exempt from state oversight.
“Civil society cannot serve as a shield from legal scrutiny, arbitrary conduct or the management of public trust without accountability,” Gürlek said. “The spirit of solidarity cannot be abused. For nongovernmental organizations, transparency is not a matter of preference but a legal and moral obligation.”
The minister said the investigation into allegations concerning the use of donations collected through civil society activities demonstrates the state’s commitment to protecting public trust. He added that organizations working alongside the government during disasters and humanitarian crises remain valuable partners, but stressed that every donation must be fully accountable.
Gürlek also noted judicial authorities would conduct the investigation impartially and on the basis of evidence, rejecting attempts to influence the courts through social media campaigns or political pressure.
His remarks came days after prosecutors overseeing the Ahbap investigation announced the arrest of 14 suspects, including the charity’s founder, musician Haluk Levent.
According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, 25 suspects were referred to court following an investigation coordinated by the Financial Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department into allegations including establishing a criminal organization, aggravated fraud and laundering proceeds of crime.
Prosecutors said financial crime investigators examined banking records, Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reports, account transactions and surveillance findings. Authorities alleged that several suspects conducted financial transactions inconsistent with their declared income, transferred large sums of money among themselves, lost substantial amounts through betting activities and carried out multiple property transfers within a short period.
Nineteen suspects were referred to court with requests for arrest, while six were referred under judicial control measures. Courts ordered the arrest of 14 suspects.
Crackdown on organized crime
Moreover, the minister also pledged to intensify the government’s fight against organized crime groups and illegal betting networks, remarking that authorities will target both criminal organizations and their financial infrastructure.
He said authorities would not tolerate criminal groups that recruit children and young people, spread fear in neighborhoods, or glorify violence and firearms. Beyond arresting gang leaders and members, prosecutors are also investigating criminal organizations’ financial resources, weapons supply networks and assets obtained through drug trafficking and other illicit activities.
“We will not leave our streets to criminal organizations,” Gürlek stressed, adding that close coordination between prosecutors and law enforcement agencies has helped narrow the operational space of street gangs and disrupt their funding sources.
Gürlek also described illegal betting and online gambling as a multidimensional threat that harms families, fuels addiction among young people and provides financing for organized crime.
He said the government’s strategy extends beyond prosecuting suspects to dismantling the financial networks behind the operations. Authorities are strengthening measures to prevent bank accounts and mobile phone lines from being used for criminal purposes, reinforcing cybercrime investigation units within prosecutors’ offices and closely monitoring financial flows involving cryptocurrencies, electronic payment institutions and social media advertisements.
The minister said authorities remain committed to exposing the financial structures behind illegal betting operations and confiscating proceeds generated through criminal activity.
Fight against FETÖ
During his speech, Gürlek reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), saying authorities would maintain investigations into the group’s current structure, financial resources, clandestine networks, safe houses and overseas connections, stressing that all judicial proceedings would be based on concrete evidence and respect the right to a fair trial.
He described FETÖ as more than a terrorist group, accusing it of infiltrating state institutions and attempting to manipulate the judiciary, education system and security apparatus for its own interests.
“The Republic of Türkiye will never allow any tutelage, parallel structure or terrorist group to prevail over the will of the nation,” he said.
Modernizing judiciary
The minister also highlighted recent reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of the judicial system, citing investments in new courthouse facilities and digital platforms, including the National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP), e-hearings and the Video Conference System (SEGBİS).
Gürlek said amendments to the execution of sentences were introduced to address public concerns over perceived impunity, including requirements that offenders serve a minimum portion of their prison terms before becoming eligible for supervised release and revised sentencing rules for repeat offenders.
He said the reforms are intended to strengthen public confidence in the justice system while ensuring effective investigations, fair trials, protection of victims’ rights and the rehabilitation of convicted offenders.
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