Politics
Erdoğan signals live broadcast for CHP corruption trials
“Let people sort out who is guilty and who is not,” Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli said on Tuesday in response to the main opposition’s call for a live broadcast of the trial of its mayors accused of corruption.
The statement of the MHP leader is backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“I think it is a good proposal and will be good,” Erdoğan told reporters inquiring about his comments on Bahçeli’s remarks on Wednesday.
His statements demonstrate that the government may open trials to public viewing, as minutes later, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç told reporters in Ankara that it is at the discretion of Parliament.
“A legal article blocks live broadcast, but if Parliament reaches a consensus, it can be amended,” Tunç said.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has seen a slew of its mayors detained or arrested since last year on charges of graft. The CHP claims the charges are politically motivated despite a plethora of evidence and testimonies of people confessing that they bribed mayors and municipal bureaucrats. CHP Chair Özgür Özel has repeatedly urged authorities to allow a live broadcast of the trial of their mayors in hearings, especially in the case of their future presidential candidate, former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu. Recently, authorities have launched an investigation into the leak of a photo of Imamoğlu in the courtroom during his corruption trial, citing laws banning photo shoots at courts.
After Imamoğlu’s arrest in March, more mayors and municipal officials from the CHP were detained and arrested. Some are linked to the investigation into an alleged ring of corruption led by Imamoğlu in Istanbul. On Tuesday, Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar was remanded into custody after his detention along with the mayors of Antalya and Adıyaman in a corruption investigation. Meanwhile, the mayor of Adıyaman was released with judicial control, while Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek was remanded into custody and suspended from office by the authorities. Last week, police also caught a deputy district mayor in Antalya’s Manavgat district red-handed, as he allegedly accepted euros in bribe hidden in a box of baklava.
Addressing his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, Erdoğan said the CHP has evolved into a “party of extortionists from a people’s party.” He said the judiciary is investigating “the biggest gang of thieves, the most reckless organized crime gang.” He underlined that those who complained about bribes and those who took bribes “were both members of CHP.”
A corruption, extortion and bribery network that began in Istanbul has spread to multiple cities and districts, Erdoğan said. “The tentacles of the octopus in various provinces and districts have begun to be exposed one by one. The situation in other cities is the same. In those places, too, the complaints are mostly from and about members of the CHP,” Erdoğan stated.
“The only thing the judiciary does is to address these complaints, which is a purely legal process, not a political one,” Erdoğan said.
“The CHP is so desperate that they are even trying to blame us for a blatant crime in which euros were found inside baklava boxes during a bribery operation.”
Asked about the bribe inside the baklava box footage circulated on the media after Deputy Mayor Engin Tüter was detained, Özel has stated that he was “shocked,” partially admitting that the deputy mayor took the bribe, unlike previous cases where he rejected accusations toward other mayors tainted with corruption allegations.
“I am glad you are shocked, Mr. Özgür. You will get used to it. You will be shocked more and more. You will be embarrassed,” Erdoğan said.
He also underlined that the state would not tolerate corruption and would ensure accountability. “The theft of every penny, every bribe taken, every public asset looted will be questioned in court. Our legal institutions have a duty to ensure this,” Erdoğan continued.
He reaffirmed that the government would carry out its duties in line with the Constitution and laws.
Referring to the opposition’s calls for early elections, Erdoğan reminded that the next presidential and parliamentary elections would be held in 2028, and local elections in 2029, as dictated by the Constitution and the Election Law.
“The opposition may wish for early elections, but it is not our agenda. The last election gave us 52.18% of the vote to rule for five years, and we will serve for that full term,” Erdoğan stated.
Erdoğan also accused the opposition of seeking foreign intervention in Türkiye’s internal affairs.
“They even stooped to asking Western countries and institutions why they are not intervening in Türkiye as they did before. They have betrayed their country by complaining to foreign media and political circles,” he said.
Özel traveled to Brussels to attend EU events where he sought to rally European lawmakers to support them against “political” arrests of mayors.
Syria’s new administration is looking for a centralized future, while the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, still insists on autonomy in the northeast. Damascus reiterated its rejection of federalism on Wednesday following a meeting with YPG leader Ferhat Abdi Şahin, code-named Mazloum Kobani, calling on the YPG to join the ranks of government forces.
Şahin and interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa first struck an accord for integration in March with U.S. backing, but its implementation has been held up by differences between the two sides. Şahin met with Syria’s leader in Damascus on Wednesday in the presence of a U.S. envoy to discuss stalled efforts to integrate the YPG into the Syrian state.
The YPG, which controls vast swathes of territory in Syria’s north, including oil and gas fields, has demanded a decentralized system of governance, which the new authorities in Damascus have rejected.
A Syrian government source told the official Al-Ekhbaria television channel on Wednesday that Damascus remained committed to “the principle of ‘One Syria, One Army, One Government,’ and categorically rejects any form of division or federalization.”
“The Syrian army is the national institution that unites all children of the homeland, and the state welcomes the integration of Syrian fighters from the SDF into its ranks within the approved constitutional and legal frameworks,” the source said, referring to the umbrella body Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dominated by YPG terrorists. The source also warned that any delays in implementing integration risked hindering efforts to “restore security and stability to all regions.”
In an interview with the TV channel Kurdistan 24, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said that while he recognized the SDF’s role in the fight against Daesh, it had to accept the “reality” that “the only future path for them is Damascus.”
Al-Sharaa had previously called for the dissolution of all armed groups in Syria.
Meanwhile, in an interview in May, Şahin emphasized the need for a “decentralized Syria where all its components live with their full rights,” an outcome he accused Syria’s new authorities of opposing.
The same month, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani warned that delaying the integration of the self-styled autonomous administration could “open the door to foreign interference, and fuel separatist tendencies.”
Barrack, told The Associated Press (AP) after the meetings in Damascus that there are still significant differences between the sides.
Barrack’s meetings came after a move by the Trump administration took effect this week, revoking a terrorism designation of the former insurgent group led by al-Sharaa, which was behind a lightning offensive last December that ousted Syria’s longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Revoking the designation was part of a broader U.S. engagement with al-Sharaa’s new, transitional government.
Under the March deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed to be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Türkiye, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Detention centers housing thousands of Daesh members, now guarded by the YPG, would also come under government control.
However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the YPG would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military.
Barrack said that it is still “a big issue” between the two sides. “I don’t think there’s a breakthrough,” Barrack said after Wednesday’s meetings. “I think these things happen in baby steps, because it’s built on trust, commitment and understanding.”
He added that, “For the two parties that have been apart for a while and maybe had an adversarial relationship for a while, they have to build that trust step by step.”
Barrack said that though “we’re not there” yet, Damascus had “done a great job” in presenting options for the YPG to consider. “I hope they will and I hope they’ll do it quickly,” he said.
A key turning point for Syria came when U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that Washington would lift decades of sanctions, imposed over Assad’s government. The U.S. played a key role in brokering the deal announced in March between al-Sharaa’s government and the YPG and urged it to integrate with Damascus.
Barrack said Washington has “complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government’s military,” while the YPG has been a “valuable partner” in the fight against Daesh and that the U.S. “wants to make sure that they have an opportunity … to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.” The U.S. has begun scaling down the number of troops it has stationed in Syria. There are about 1,300 U.S. forces now, but Barrack said Washington is in “no hurry” to pull out completely.
In the interview with the AP, Barrack also downplayed reports of possible breakthroughs in talks on normalizing ties between Syria and Israel.
“My feeling of what’s happening in the neighborhood is that it should happen, and it’ll happen like unwrapping an onion, slowly … as the region builds trust with each other,” he said without elaborating.
Since Assad’s fall, Israel has seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Israeli soldiers have also raided Syrian towns outside the border zone and detained people whom they said were militants, sometimes clashing with locals.
Özgür Kabadayı, the mayor of Istanbul’s Şile district, was among six suspects detained by financial crimes police on Thursday on charges of running a criminal organization, bribery and tender rigging.
He is the latest mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to be detained in corruption investigations since last year. Details of the investigation into Kabadayı and other suspects are not clear yet.
Media reports said the investigation included testimonies of eyewitnesses, particularly on bribes to municipal officials. A businessperson told investigators that municipal officials asked for bribes for doing business with the municipality in the district, which is a popular weekend getaway for Istanbulites. The unnamed businessperson said that as a supporter of the CHP, he was disturbed by municipal officials’ actions, adding that he witnessed a colleague paying TL 300,000 ($7,490) to a municipal official for a construction permit. Another businessperson testifying said he paid TL 8 million to municipal officials.
A barrage of investigations focusing on CHP-run municipalities across Türkiye netted mayors and municipal bureaucrats accused of taking bribes in exchange for building permits, rigging tenders and other forms of corruption involving municipal businesses. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan branded the investigations as efforts to unveil the “tentacles of an octopus of corruption.” The CHP claims the charges are politically motivated, while authorities highlight that the judiciary is independent of any political influence and point out that some investigations were launched upon complaints by CHP members themselves against mayors and municipal officials.
Although several mayors before him were detained or arrested in corruption probes, the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu in March for alleged corruption triggered protests by the CHP. CHP Chair Özgür Özel led the protests that occasionally descended into all-out riots. Recently, Özel openly threatened an uprising against the democratically elected government if the corruption investigations continue, prompting outcry from CHP critics who accused him of attempting to instigate a coup.
Imamoğlu, who is declared a future presidential candidate by the CHP after his arrest, faces a spate of accusations alongside corruption charges, including forging his university diploma, and insulting and threatening prosecutors who investigated him.
President Erdoğan says the investigations are needed to address a vast network of corruption and has urged patience. On Wednesday, he said he approved a call by government ally Devlet Bahçeli to amend regulations for the live broadcast of trials of mayors.
Rıza Akpolat, the mayor of the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul for the CHP, was the first mayor to be detained and subsequently arrested in a crackdown on an alleged network of corruption. A businessperson awarded contracts by his municipality and other CHP-run municipalities has testified about the widespread corruption, especially in public tenders, which led to the expansion of the probes. Since then, hundreds of people have been detained on related charges, from businesspeople who confessed to bribes and mayors who took them.
According to the review of legal filings and state disclosures, 14 CHP mayors and more than 200 party members or local officials have been jailed pending trial.
Of those, more than 220 were imprisoned or put under house arrest, according to the review, which was based in part on a compilation of reports by Anadolu Agency (AA).
Since Tuesday last week, the investigation has spread to Izmir, Türkiye’s third-largest city, as well as Antalya, Adana and Adıyaman, leading to the detentions of former and incumbent mayors of those provinces.
Confessions of deputy mayor
Also on Thursday, media outlets published confessions of Mehmet Engin Tüter, the deputy mayor of Antalya’s Manavgat district, who was caught red-handed while accepting bribes in a police sting last Friday. Tüter was caught on video as he was ordered by police officers to open a box of baklava handed to him minutes before by a businessperson. The footage showed that the box contained a stash of euros. Other footage showed him discreetly accepting the box, fully aware of the cash hidden inside.
After his detention, Tüter invoked the “effective repentance” law that grants lenient sentences for suspects in exchange for confessions and detailed how other municipal officials were involved in bribes. Tüter is the deputy working under Mayor Niyazi Nefi Kara, who was earlier detained on corruption charges.
He told investigators that Kara set up a team of associates comprised of his friends and next of kin after he took office, after winning the 2024 municipal elections. He said Kara’s nephew and a friend were assigned as key bureaucrats in the municipality. “(Kara’s nephew) Hüseyin Cem Gül was very active at the municipality. Although he had no official post at the municipality, the mayor had instructed bureaucrats to consult with him, particularly while issuing building licenses and permits, especially for hotels,” the deputy mayor of a popular tourist destination told investigators.
“No one was able to secure a license without asking Gül first,” he said.
Tüter said the municipality allowed a hotel to run several shops without proper licenses, apparently in exchange for bribes, and issued licenses for two other hotels though they did not comply with building regulations, claiming that Gül “benefited” from permits.
He said the mayor asked an assembly member to recruit a wrestler for the municipality’s sports club, in exchange for allowing the said member to build more rooms for her hotels, though it was against regulations. Tüter stated that the said wrestler was also paid TL 4 million by the assembly member who was in charge of the sports club.
Tüter said that in one case, a hotel owner was asked to “furnish” the office of the mayor in exchange for a permit.
Türkiye’s newly enacted climate law places a strong emphasis on protecting social welfare while prioritizing key sectors like agriculture and animal husbandry, according to Halil Hasar, director of the Climate Change Directorate at the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Hasar described the law as a strategic, domestically tailored step that balances environmental responsibility with economic priorities.
“The climate law was planned entirely considering Türkiye’s historical responsibilities and current situation,” he said. “It does not restrict the freedom of any individual, does not worsen social welfare, and prioritizes agriculture, animal husbandry, water resources and climate justice.”
The law, passed by the Turkish Parliament on July 2, will be coordinated by the Climate Change Directorate, but its implementation will involve all relevant public institutions and organizations.
Hasar echoed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent remarks, calling it “a completely domestic and national law.”
He said that criticism of the law largely stems from its name rather than its actual content.
“There are no articles penalizing or restricting individuals. The regulations are preventive and guiding, especially for industry,” Hasar said.
Addressing concerns from the industrial sector, Hasar emphasized that the law introduces protective obligations rather than punitive measures. He pointed out the importance of aligning with global economic trends, particularly the rise of border carbon regulation mechanisms.
“If you don’t take precautions, one day you may not be able to export a good you produce here,” he warned.
Türkiye, as a nation committed to international trade and economic growth, must prepare for the evolving global climate policies, Hasar concluded.
The new law aims to ensure the country stays competitive while advancing environmental sustainability and social equity.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said Türkiye rejects all statements that seek to deny the Srebrenica genocide or “glorify war criminals” in defiance of international court rulings.
Erdoğan’s remarks came in a video message marking the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which claimed the lives of thousands of Bosnians.
Erdoğan also reiterated Ankara’s continued and unconditional support for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and constitutional order.
Touching on Israel’s relentless ongoing attacks on Gaza, Erdoğan said that decades ago, the international community remained silent on Srebrenica, and now, in recent years, it is a mere bystander to the oppression taking place in Palestine.
Erdoğan vowed that the Israeli government will be held accountable “sooner or later” before the law and history for its genocide of nearly 58,000 Palestinians.
Hakan Fidan, Türkiye’s foreign minister, also marked the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide with a message shared on social media.
“This profound tragedy, whose pain remains deeply felt in our hearts, has left an indelible mark on humanity’s conscience,” he said. “Remembering it and ensuring it is never forgotten is a collective responsibility we all share.”
Genocide Memorial Museum
Also on Friday, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş officially opened the Srebrenica Genocide Victims Memorial Museum in Bosnia-Herzegovina in a poignant ceremony.
The museum, established through a joint initiative between the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Srebrenica Memorial Center, stands as a stark reminder of the 1995 genocide that claimed the lives of over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys.
The museum is located in a former battery factory in Srebrenica – the very location where victims were held before being executed. Speaker Kurtulmuş was welcomed at the site by Bosnian Presidential Council members Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić.
During his visit, Kurtulmuş toured the museum’s exhibits, which include remains of genocide victims, personal belongings, harrowing photographs and video footage from the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. He received a detailed briefing from museum officials and signed the memorial book dedicated to the victims.
Kurtulmuş was accompanied by a Turkish delegation and Bosnian officials, emphasizing the significance of Turkish-Bosnian cooperation in preserving the memory of the genocide.
“This museum is not only a memorial to the victims but also a call to humanity to never forget the horrors committed here,” said Kurtulmuş during the opening ceremony.
Remembering Srebrenica
On July 11, 1995, Serb forces under the command of Ratko Mladić seized the town of Srebrenica. Thousands of Bosnian civilians, seeking protection from Dutch U.N. peacekeepers, were ultimately handed over to Serb forces.
While women and children were sent to territory held by Bosnian government forces, an estimated 8,372 Bosniak men and boys were systematically murdered in forests, factories and warehouses. Their bodies were buried in mass graves, many of which remained undiscovered for years.
Today, identification efforts continue, with remains being recovered and reburied annually at the Potocari Memorial Cemetery every July 11, the anniversary of the massacre.
The new museum aims to educate future generations, honor the memory of the victims and reinforce the global call to prevent genocide in any form.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker discussed Türkiye-Austria bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate on Wednesday.
President Erdoğan emphasized the need to fully harness the trade and investment potential between Türkiye and Austria and said both countries will continue taking steps to enhance cooperation in key sectors.
Touching on global conflicts, Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye remains committed to efforts aimed at ending wars and highlighted the urgency of not missing emerging opportunities to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close.
He also drew attention to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling it a catastrophe and stressing the urgent need for humanitarian aid to reach the enclave without delay.
Regarding Syria, Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to promoting long-term stability in the country. He stressed that improving social and economic conditions would be vital in facilitating the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.
The outgoing head of the Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, handed over his duties to Burhanettin Duran on Thursday in an emotional ceremony in Ankara.
The inaugural chief of the institution that reshaped the presidency’s public communication efforts and fight against disinformation was appointed as the first chair of the directorate in 2018.
Duran, the country’s deputy foreign minister, thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his appointment that was made official on Thursday. His predecessor Altun will now head the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (TIHEK). The respected academic who was once a columnist for Daily Sabah like Duran, thanked Erdoğan for his appointment seven years ago.
“I am happy and proud to hand over my duty to Duran, a valuable friend and former colleague. President Erdoğan set out a vision for us and always supported us. The Directorate of Communications has worked with great sacrifice to build the Turkish Communications Model. I also would like to thank journalists attending our ceremony today who worked as soldiers of truth in this post-truth age. I am grateful to them. I also thank my family whom I felt neglected while working here,” Altun said.
For his part, Duran said he was particularly happy to succeed Altun, noting their friendship going back to their academic years and their work at the think-tank Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA).
He said that they would continue the next-generation national communications model shaped by Altun and his team. “(The directorate) did many good things to enhance Türkiye’s international reputation as an influential power, to improve its soft power,” Duran said.
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