Türkiye on Thursday strongly condemned a recommendation by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality to allocate funds in the 2027 EU budget for a monument planned by the Greek Cypriot administration aimed at defaming the Turkish Armed Forces.

The proposed funding, embedded in the committee’s budget opinion, backs a project designed to target Turkish forces who intervened on the island more than five decades ago to stop the systematic persecution of Turkish Cypriots.

“The Turkish Armed Forces prevented the destruction of the Turkish Cypriot people through the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation and brought peace to the entire island, which has endured for over half a century,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, emphasizing that Greek Cypriot claims distort historical facts and weaponize memory for political gain.

Ankara cautioned European leadership against acting as an instrument for factions intent on alienating Türkiye from the bloc, warning that taking sides undermines stability in the region.

“Instead of contributing to a resolution on the Cyprus issue, EU institutions are compromising principles of neutrality and fairness by turning into tools for Greek Cypriot propaganda, which further damages trust between the two communities,” the statement added.

Türkiye has long maintained that a durable settlement on the divided island can only be built on the basis of political equality and the acknowledgment of two distinct sovereign states.

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The Sivas Congress was the path to the liberation of a nation, according to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye. Some 107 years later, the convention is remembered as one of the key events leading to the foundation of the republic.

The central Turkish city that lent its name to the congress has hosted several events since Aug. 31 and was scheduled to host more on Thursday to mark the 1919 congress, which was part of the National Struggle led by Atatürk and embraced by the nation seeking to repel invaders in post-World War I Türkiye. Atatürk’s arrival in the city more than a century ago was re-enacted on Wednesday, while the courtyard of the building where the congress was held hosted a fashion event showcasing traditional dresses dating from the Seljuk period to the Republican era.

The Sivas Congress was among a chain of events initiated by Atatürk, who secretly left occupied Istanbul in 1919 under the guise of inspecting Ottoman troops in Anatolia. Planning to mobilize the country to expel the Allied forces, Atatürk, then known as Ottoman commander Mustafa Kemal, advanced this goal with the Sivas Congress, the first public gathering that served as a kind of precursor to the republic’s Parliament by giving the people of Anatolia a say in the future of a country that was in tatters as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing. A Council of Representatives was elected at the congress and served as the top body overseeing the struggle for liberation. It gave legitimacy to the national anti-occupation movement, which would later be based in present-day capital Ankara, where the republic was declared four years later.

Atatürk first arrived in Sivas on June 27, 1919, to organize mobilization for the National Struggle before leaving for the eastern city of Erzurum. He returned on Sept. 2, 1919, and stayed in Sivas, which he described as one of the “safe cities” during the occupation, until Dec. 18, 1919. The congress officially began in a building that now serves as a museum on Sept. 4, 1919. The congress lasted seven days, during which Atatürk, fellow soldiers, and public figures discussed various pressing issues in an effort to realize the goal of liberating the country. It hosted heated debates, including over a proposal that the nation should accept a foreign mandate or protectorate under the control of the occupying powers.

Ultimately, participants rejected any notion of a mandate or protectorate. On Sept. 12, 1919, Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha as he was known at the time, announced the decisions made at the congress. The most important among them was the rejection of a mandate.

This was perhaps best embodied in an exchange between Atatürk and a medical student identified only as “Hikmet” in official records. During the Sept. 8 session of the congress, Hikmet told Atatürk that they should not accept a mandate.

“My fellow students sent me here to represent their efforts for our cause of independence. If anyone here accepts a mandate, we will strictly oppose them. Even if it is you, Mr. Pasha, we will reject and condemn you,” he said.

The words moved Mustafa Kemal, who told the congress to pay attention to the example set by the youth.

“This is the expression of the Turkish nation’s noble blood. So, rest assured. I am proud of the youth, and I want them to know that we will not accept a mandate even if we are to remain in the minority. Our goal will not change: it is either independence or death,” Atatürk said.

Serap Bozpolat Ayan, a lecturer at the Department of Atatürk’s Principles and History of the Turkish Revolution at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that books would not be enough to fully describe the Sivas Congress.

Emphasizing that the Sivas Congress was where the Turkish nation declared, “I will not surrender,” Ayan said: “At the Sivas Congress, the only concrete option before us appeared to be a mandate or a protectorate. But a Turk cannot live as a captive; a mandate or colonial rule could never be an option for us. Therefore, the Sivas Congress offered a choice between independence and death. In other words, a mandate or protectorate would have been worse than death for us and was not an option. The survival of the Turkish people could only be possible through independence.”

Recalling that Atatürk emphasized that freedom and independence were inherent to the character of the Turkish people, Ayan said: “We were under occupation. Our flag, territorial integrity and independence were under threat, and we were virtually left without a state. We were under serious intervention by the victorious powers. We had entered a period in which they sought to determine our fate. In such an environment, it seemed as though there was a road ahead of us, but it was pitch dark, and we were going through a period in which we could not see our way. Mustafa Kemal’s role was essentially to illuminate that path. The Sivas Congress was one of the most important steps in this process and, in a sense, its beginning.”

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Türkiye will maintain an uncompromising fight against crime and organized criminal groups while expanding programs aimed at rehabilitating inmates and helping them reintegrate into society, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Thursday.

“While maintaining our uncompromising resolve in the fight against crime and criminal organizations, we will never give up on creating the necessary opportunities to reintegrate convicts into society,” Gürlek said.

The minister was speaking at the opening of the Prison Workshops Ankara Products and Handicrafts Fair in the Turkish capital.

Gürlek said Türkiye’s approach to its prison system extends beyond carrying out sentences and emphasizes preparing inmates for their eventual return to society.

“The duty of a state governed by the rule of law is not only to fully enforce a sentence but also to work in a way that prepares the person serving that sentence for reintegration into society,” he said.

He emphasized that inmates should be equipped with vocational knowledge, professional experience and workplace discipline that would enable them to rebuild their lives after release.

Türkiye’s Prison Workshops Institution operates 378 directorates covering more than 200 professions and sectors, including furniture, textiles, metalworking, food production, agriculture, livestock farming, electronics, construction and handicrafts, Gürlek said.

Participation in employment and on-the-job vocational training programs increased by 32.6% in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to the minister.

More than 77,000 inmates participated in employment and vocational training programs during 2025, while 56,963 inmates had taken part in such activities as of Aug. 31, 2026, Gürlek noted. Some 12,635 personnel are involved in administering the programs.

Türkiye has also increased the number of vocational education centers operating in prisons from 67 to 73 over the past six months.

As of August, 1,539 inmates were studying at the centers, which provide qualifications including journeyman and master craftsman certificates, master instructor qualifications and vocational high school diplomas. More than 25,000 vocational certificates have been issued through the programs to date, Gürlek noted.

‘Iron fist’ against organized crime

Gürlek said the state would continue taking a tough approach toward criminals and organized crime groups while providing opportunities for those who have served their sentences to return to society.

“Our state maintains its iron fist against criminals and organized crime gangs that threaten the peace of our citizens and makes no concessions in this fight,” he remarked.

But Gürlek said a strong state must also prevent former inmates from returning to crime by helping them acquire skills and find employment after their release.

He described rehabilitation programs as the state’s “velvet hand” extended to people seeking to rebuild their lives after serving their sentences.

The Justice Ministry is also working on new models aimed at making it easier for people who have acquired vocational skills and workplace discipline in prison workshops to enter the labor market following their release, he said.

Gürlek said strengthening the rule of law, maintaining public security and improving the prison system were part of the government’s broader “Century of Justice” objective under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “Century of Türkiye” vision.

New constitution

Gürlek also reiterated the government’s call for a new constitution, describing the initiative advocated by Erdoğan as one of the most significant legal objectives of the “Century of Türkiye” vision.

“We regard the goal of a new constitution, which our president has long advocated as civilian, democratic, inclusive and based on the will of the nation, as one of the most important legal steps of the ‘Century of Türkiye,’” Gürlek underlined.

He said Türkiye’s democratic development should be complemented by a civilian constitution that strongly safeguards human dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms while reflecting the common will of the nation.

Gürlek added that the government would continue working to strengthen the rule of law, preserve social peace and improve the criminal justice system as part of its goal of making the “Century of Türkiye” a “Century of Justice.”

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Authorities on Thursday announced that the body of former Minister of Transportation Arif Ahmet Denizolgun was disinterred last month over suspicion of foul play.

Denizolgun, who died in Istanbul in 2016 at the age of 60 from brain haemorrhage, was reportedly killed by his rivals. His nephew Fatih Süleyman Denizolgun pointed fingers at Alihan Kuriş in his death. Denizolgun was the leader of a religious movement known as “Süleymancılar.” The group’s current leader, Kuriş, was arrested last month on charges of corruption, along with other top figures of the group.

Denizolgun’s nephew Fatih Denizolgun long claimed that his uncle was killed by people close to Kuriş who sought to lead the movement inspired by Denizolgun’s ancestor Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, a renowned Islamic scholar of the 20th century.

Authorities announced that findings from the disinterment were sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for further examination. Prosecutors tasked with organized crime investigations have launched the probe into allegations of foul play in 2016, but Denizolgun’s nephew has claimed that the case was covered up.

In a statement issued on Aug. 18, the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said a complaint and allegations had been filed claiming that Denizolgun’s death in September 2016 and the autopsy conducted at the time were suspicious.

The statement said an order had been issued to exhume the grave in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to conduct a renewed examination to determine the actual cause of the deceased’s death.

In line with the order, the deputy chief public prosecutor, a public prosecutor, experts from the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute and crime scene investigation teams arrived at Denizolgun’s grave on Aug. 19. Following the exhumation, pieces of Denizolgun’s remains were taken from the grave and transported to the Forensic Medicine Institute for examination. The samples removed from the grave were returned to the grave on Aug. 20 after the procedures were completed.

In a statement issued on Aug. 26, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said a finding of “suspicious death” had been made during the examination of Denizolgun’s remains and that the investigation into suspects, including Alihan Kuriş, on charges of “murder” was continuing.

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Authorities on Thursday detained 13 suspects and launched a manhunt for another in an investigation into a criminal gang that prosecutors claim was led by Istanbul’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu. Imamoğlu was arrested in 2025 and is currently on trial for allegedly running the gang, which prosecutors say thrived on bribery and corruption.

Thursday’s detentions focused on allegations of corruption in several tenders organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), which was led by Imamoğlu of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) between 2019 and March 2025. One tender allegedly tainted by corruption involved the acquisition of materials for İmamoğlu’s mayoral residence, according to investigators.

The suspects detained in the operation included former and current municipal staff. They include Mustafa Sökmen, head of the municipality’s department in charge of procuring materials for municipal services, and Rezzan Neslihan Vural, head of IBB’s financial services department.

The trial of the “Imamoğlu criminal gang” held its 74th hearing on Wednesday at the massive prison-courthouse complex where Imamoğlu and his alleged accomplices at IBB have been in custody since last year. A total of 407 people are defendants in the case.

An indictment against the defendants says Imamoğlu founded the gang in 2014, when he was mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district, and that the gang was involved in 143 known offenses. The defendants are accused of causing losses to public coffers.

Imamoğlu’s associates named in the indictment include Murat Ongun, Fatih Keleş and Ertan Yıldız, municipal bureaucrats and advisers to Imamoğlu. Along with them, Adem Soytekin, a contractor who once worked for the İmamoğlu family’s construction business, is among the other defendants described by prosecutors as “senior members of the criminal gang.”

The indictment seeks a total prison sentence of between 849 years and 2,430 years and six months for Imamoğlu on charges including “forming an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,” “recording personal data,” “obtaining and disseminating personal data,” “concealing evidence of a crime,” “obstructing communications,” “damaging public property,” “bribery,” “publicly disseminating misleading information,” “extortion,” “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations,” “laundering assets derived from crime,” “rigging public tenders,” “deliberate environmental pollution,” “violating the Tax Procedure Law,” “violating the Forestry Law,” and “violating the Mining Law.”

An indictment prepared against seven defendants, including İnan Güney, who was removed from his post as mayor of Beyoğlu, was also merged with this case.

The indictment seeks prison sentences ranging from nine years and eight months to 31 years and eight months for each of the seven defendants – Inan Güney, Ismail Akkaya, Seyhan Özcan, Veysel Eren Güven, Sabriye Akkaya, Mehmet Akif Bulut and Deniz Göleli – on charges of “aiding an organization established for the purpose of committing crimes without being a member of the organization” and “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations.”

During the trial proceedings, 57 defendants, including those in the merged case, have been released, leaving 53 defendants in pretrial detention.

On Friday, the court is expected to announce its decision on whether to extend the defendants’ detention, although İmamoğlu is expected to remain in custody.

At the 74th hearing on Wednesday, Serdal Taşkın, a defendant and former director of Kültür AŞ, an IBB subsidiary, responded to allegations of tender rigging. Taşkın said he served as director for 13 months and did not violate any tender regulations or laws. He denied allegations that he enriched himself through bribes in exchange for awarding tenders.

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Former Interior Minister Idris Naim Şahin was released under judicial control on Tuesday after testifying in a case concerning his alleged role in helping members of the alleged Alihan Kuriş gang evade capture.

Hilmi Tuna Kuriş, the brother of Alihan Kuriş, and two other suspects were captured in southwestern Türkiye on Aug. 21 in a rental vehicle registered in Şahin’s name. The suspects, who are accused of links to the gang associated with a religious community known as “Süleymancılar,” were attempting to flee the country at the time of their capture, according to authorities.

Şahin was questioned by prosecutors in Ankara and told them that he did not know Kuriş or Erhan Yılmaz, who were captured in the vehicle driven by Mehmet Özmen, although he acknowledged that he knew the driver. He claimed that the vehicle was registered in his name but that he had last driven it in June and was unaware of who had been using it afterward. He said he had leased the vehicle from a company owned by Özmen, while public records showed that he paid an annual lease fee of TL 1,000 for the vehicle, far below standard annual fees for such vehicles.

An Ankara court released Şahin after questioning but imposed a ban on traveling abroad.

According to investigators, Mehmet Özmen, who allegedly helped facilitate Hilmi Tuna Kuriş’s movements while he was evading authorities, transferred TL 2.4 million (about $50,000) to purchase a vehicle on behalf of Alihan Kuriş’s wife, Seda Kuriş.

A Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) report dated Aug. 20 and included in the investigation also examined financial and property transactions involving Kuriş and people in his immediate circle following the 2016 death of Arif Ahmet Denizolgun, who served as a transport minister and former leader of the Süleymancılar religious community.

Investigators allege that the period following Denizolgun’s death saw a significant increase in property and financial transactions involving Kuriş and his relatives. Denizolgun’s nephew, Fatih Süleyman Denizolgun, has claimed that his uncle’s death was suspicious and called on authorities to open a new investigation into his death.

Denizolgun said in a social media post that the investigation was expanded following the detention of former Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) member Ahmet Gökçen on Aug. 13, 2026. He alleged that Gökçen was a suspect in the suppression of a murder report concerning the death of his uncle at the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), yet continued to serve as an expert at the ATK until Aug. 13, 2026. Denizolgun said prosecutors had requested the autopsy video three times since February 2026, but the ATK reported on July 16 that the footage could not be found. He claimed that the footage was subsequently sent ahead of the exhumation procedure and that the recordings were fragmented.

An expert assessment stated that the possibility of suffocation could not be scientifically ruled out if the victim’s mouth and nose were covered while pressure was applied to the chest. According to the allegations, the deceased was reportedly suffocated with a pillow. Denizolgun also alleged that physical samples had been destroyed at the ATK.

The group known publicly as “Süleymancılar” originated as a religious movement named after 20th-century Islamic scholar Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, Kuriş’ great-grandfather.

Initially operating through informal religious instruction in homes and mosques, the group later expanded across Türkiye through Quran courses and student dormitories, largely financed by membership contributions and donations. Over time, its activities expanded into commercial sectors including food, health care, tourism, textiles, construction and real estate.

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