President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a telephone conversation with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics. According to the statement made by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, Türkiye-Latvia bilateral relations and regional and global issues were discussed during the meeting. During the meeting, President Erdoğan expressed his pleasure in hosting Latvian President Rinkevics in Türkiye on the occasion of the NATO Ankara Summit. Hoping that the decisions taken at this historic NATO Summit, where the spirit of solidarity of the Allies was clearly manifested, will be beneficial, President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye attaches great importance to the security of the Baltic region within NATO and intensifies its contributions in this context. President Erdoğan emphasized that he wishes to further develop the cooperation between Türkiye and Latvia in many areas, especially in the defense industry.

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN MEETS WITH PEDRO SANCHEZ!

President Erdoğan had a telephone conversation with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez.

The Directorate of Communications made the following statements regarding the meeting:

Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had a telephone conversation with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez. Leaders discussed Türkiye-Spain bilateral relations and regional and global issues. President Erdoğan congratulated Sánchez for the victory of the Spanish National Team in the World Cup. Stating that he found the joy of the people of Gaza, who watched the match among the ruins in Gaza, after Spain’s championship very valuable, our President stated that Spain’s conscientious and moral attitude towards Palestine was also reciprocated in the hearts of football fans around the world. President Erdoğan stated that he was happy to host Spanish President Sánchez on the occasion of the NATO Ankara Summit. Our President stated that he would be pleased to host Sánchez again in Türkiye at the beginning of 2027 for the Türkiye-Spain Intergovernmental Summit.

Yayman reminded that United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will come to the Island at the end of this month and emphasized that he is sure that Guterres will be welcomed with the best hospitality by the TRNC President and people. Pointing out that the Cyprus issue is the cause of the Turkish nation, Yayman said: “We celebrate the 20 July Peace and Freedom Day of the TRNC. Once again, we commemorate the late Rauf Denktaş, the great leader who founded the last Turkish state, with mercy and respect. His ideas are very important, we are very happy to see that his ideas are alive today. The Cyprus issue is the issue of the Turkish nation. Today, as yesterday, Cyprus is Turkey, Turkey.” “It is Cyprus and the future of the Turkish Cypriot people is the future of the Turkish nation.”

“TRNC IS A STATE ESTABLISHED IN VERY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS”

Making statements to journalists after the visit, Turkey-TRNC Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group President Erdem also mentioned the then Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who provided the guarantor on the Cyprus issue, former Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, and the Turkish community leader Dr. who contributed to the establishment of the TRNC. Fazıl Küçük paid tribute to Founding President Rauf Raif Denktaş, then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and said, “TRNC is a state established under very difficult conditions.” He said his words.

Erdem said that Türkiye and TRNC have chosen the path of progress together and stated that after water, electricity and natural gas will also be brought to the Island. Stating that Türkiye and the TRNC will continue their path by ensuring their development and security together, Erdem stated that Turkey will provide all the necessary support to the TRNC.

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, will visit the parties for the framework law to be issued within the scope of “Terror-Free Türkiye”.
Kurtulmuş will make his first visit to MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli today to ensure that the regulation is prepared with the broadest consensus and becomes law. Kurtulmuş will listen to Bahçeli’s views on the framework law during the meeting.
The second address of the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly will be the DEM Party. Kurtulmuş will meet with CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at 16.00.
Kurtulmuş will visit the AK Party group tomorrow. The framework law will be discussed with AK Party Group Chairman Abdullah Güler and his accompanying delegation. After these meetings, it is aimed to clarify the text that will be prepared in parallel with the report of the GNAT National Solidarity, Fraternity and Democracy Commission.
AK Party Group Deputy Chairperson Leyla Şahin Usta, in her statement at the Turkish Press Federation, said that the legal regulations needed within the scope of “Terror-Free Turkey” can be completed before the Turkish Grand National Assembly goes on recess, and if necessary, the Parliament can be called to an extraordinary meeting.
Usta stated that the goal is to completely disarm the PKK, neutralize Qandil and prevent the restructuring of the terrorist organization. Regarding the expectations for general amnesty, Usta noted that the state could pardon some crimes committed against itself, but stated that the rights of victims would be respected in crimes committed against individuals.

Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, an operation was carried out in 12 provinces based in Istanbul against the armed criminal organization, which was determined to have established a relationship of interest with public officials and leaked information from the sensitive systems of the state.

37 SUSPECTS CAUGHT

37 of the 50 suspects for whom detention orders were issued were caught. In the investigation, members of the organization; It was determined that he had accessed confidential information such as crime records, search and arrest warrants, red notice information, vehicle registration records and customs passage data.

LAWYER, COMMISSIONER, POLICE

It was stated that among the suspects there were 2 lawyers, a jeweler, a truck driver, a management consultant, a deputy director of customs enforcement, 15 customs officers, a commissioner, 7 police officers, 2 probation officers, a police clerk and 2 retired police officers from the Anti-Narcotic Crimes Directorate.

BILLION MONEY TRANSACTIONS

In the investigation, it was determined that the suspect Serkan Cemal Güney transferred 5.4 billion liras between his own accounts between January 1, 2024 and January 8, 2026, and İbrahim Tankoş transferred 193 million liras. It was determined that the money traffic between the two suspects was 79.6 million lira.

BRIBERY TARIFF IN MESSAGES

It was also revealed that a truck loaded with drugs, which passed through the Ipsala Border Gate on December 20, 2025, was passed without being X-Ray scanned, and bribe tariffs were discussed in messaging messages.

It was determined that 430 thousand 140 liras were transferred from the jeweler’s accounts to Nabi Erdem and 697 thousand 500 liras were transferred to Serkan Cemal Güney.

17 SUSPECTS DETAINED IN ILLEGAL BETTING
Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Illegal Betting and Sports Crimes Bureau and Cyber ​​Fighting Branch Directorate teams pressed the button before the World Cup Final Match, where illegal betting traffic reached its peak. With the artificial intelligence-supported AVCI program, 19 foreign financial houses connected to the PANEL system, which were integrated with illegal betting sites and provided organized money transfers, were also exposed. 17 of the 23 suspects for whom a detention order was issued were caught. While efforts were being made to catch 6 suspects, 6 thousand 314 bank accounts were immediately blocked.

Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics; It presented comprehensive statistical evaluations of the cases heard in family courts between 2016 and 2025.
According to the data; Despite the increase in the number of divorce and divorce-related cases in the last 10 years due to population growth, positive results have been achieved in reducing the workload of the courts and eliminating the backlog of files. The study also discussed divorce cases heard in regional courts of justice, protective and preventive measures given within the scope of Law No. 6284, and marriage and divorce data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute.

HUGE INCREASE IN CUSTODY
Compared to 2016, the file completion rate in divorce cases increased from 92.9 percent to 102.1 percent, in alimony cases from 88 percent to 108.2 percent, in custody cases from 68.8 percent to 103.3 percent, in marriage annulment cases from 112.7 percent to 120.1 percent, and in separation cases from 79.1 percent to 108.2 percent. It rose to 106.8. In addition, it was determined that the number of cases such as divorce, alimony and custody filed in 2025 decreased compared to 2024.
This rate is expected to be much higher in 2026, with the implementation of reform efforts to prevent grievances caused by the long duration of divorce cases, which Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek has emphasized sensitively.

Within the scope of the bribery and corruption investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a detention order was issued for 31 people, including Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, her husband Murat Hürriyet and CHP Izmit District Chairman Gökhan Ercan. In operations carried out simultaneously in 5 provinces, 28 suspects, including Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and her husband Murat Hürriyet, were detained.

MONEY UNDER THE NAME OF COMMISSION
Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was stated that some tenders organized by the Izmit Municipality were subject to investigation as a result of the studies carried out in line with the suspect statements taken by the prosecutor’s office, effective expressions of regret and secret witness statements. Within the scope of the investigation, it was learned that in the tenders organized by Izmit Municipality, the companies that won the tender and the companies that bid for the tender had kinship relations with the municipal officials, that money was received from the companies doing business with the municipality under the name of commission, and that the mayor’s wife had a direct connection in the tender processes, personnel recruitment and staff determinations.

28 SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY
Within the scope of the investigation, a simultaneous operation was carried out in Antalya, Kırıkkale, Izmit, Istanbul and Ankara against 31 suspects, including Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and her husband Murat Hürriyet, on charges of “establishing an organization to commit a crime”, “bribery” and “tender rigging”. During the operation, 28 suspects, including CHP Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet and her husband Murat Hürriyet, CHP Izmit District Mayor Gökhan Ercan, Izmit Municipality Bekaş General Manager Ömer Akın and Tender Manager Leyla Kıran, were detained. Making a short statement in front of his house during the detention process, Mayor Hürriyet said, “I feel very at ease. I did not eat sour so that my stomach would hurt.”

CONFESSION OF 3 KILLS OF GOLD FROM THE BUSINESSMAN
Within the scope of the investigation against Izmit Municipality, businessman Turgut Koç’s statement that he gave approximately 3 kilograms of gold to Izmit Mayor Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet during the car rental tender process was revealed. Koç, a businessman known for his closeness to Veli Ağbaba and Özgür Özel, claimed that Hürriyet asked him for help during the car rental tender process and that he requested money after the tender was completed, and said, “The President asked me for money because this was a vehicle tender. I lent approximately 3 kilograms of gold to Fatma Kaplan at night while going to Istanbul from the Northern Marmara Highway Akmeşe road. Kaplan did not extend the contract period. I could not get 3 kilograms of gold back.”