Politics
Özel finally confirms new party as Turkish opposition chaos continues
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has asked Greece to extradite three suspects wanted by Türkiye, including the alleged leader of the Bayğaralar organized crime group, during talks with his Greek counterpart, Yorgos Floridis.
Gürlek raised the cases of Ramazan Bayğara, Nedim Sorguç and Ali Yeşildağ during the meeting on Tuesday, stressing the need for stronger judicial cooperation between the neighboring countries in combating transnational organized crime.
Floridis said Greek judicial authorities had approved the extradition of all three suspects and that the Greek government had endorsed the decisions. However, the extraditions of Bayğara and Sorguç have been suspended because of interim measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), he said.
Bayğara, identified by Turkish authorities as the leader of the Bayğaralar crime group, was detained in Greece while being sought internationally under an Interpol Red Notice for allegedly establishing a criminal organization and intentional homicide.
Turkish judicial authorities subsequently requested his extradition.
Sorguç is also wanted under a Red Notice on charges of membership in a criminal organization and drug trafficking. His transfer to Türkiye had been scheduled for Aug. 20, but was halted following an application to the ECtHR, Gürlek said.
The minister also raised the case of Yeşildağ, whose extradition Türkiye is seeking on charges of intentional homicide and armed robbery involving multiple perpetrators.
Gürlek said transnational organized crime had become an increasingly important area of cooperation between Türkiye and Greece as criminal groups expand their operations across borders.
He said such organizations increasingly use technology and social media to recruit young people and engage in crimes ranging from drug trafficking and money laundering to homicide, robbery and threats.
Türkiye has issued a circular to chief public prosecutors’ offices at 75 heavy penal court centers across the country’s 81 provinces as part of efforts to accelerate and better coordinate investigations into organized crime groups, Gürlek said.
He stressed that the international networks of organized crime groups meant authorities could not effectively combat them solely within national borders.
“These organizations pose a serious threat not only to our country but also to public order and public security in the countries where they operate,” Gürlek noted, emphasizing the importance of mutual judicial cooperation.
Gürlek thanked Greek judicial authorities for their cooperation and said Türkiye would show the same sensitivity toward extradition requests submitted by Athens.
He also invited Floridis to an International Justice Summit scheduled for Oct. 8-9 in Istanbul.
Türkiye aims to make the current period a “Century of Justice” by accelerating judicial proceedings, improving access to justice and strengthening legal certainty, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Wednesday as the country marked the opening of the 2026-2027 judicial year.
Speaking at a ceremony organized by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Gürlek noted Türkiye’s judicial reform agenda would go beyond legislative changes and focus on improving the speed and effectiveness of the justice system.
“In line with the goals of the Century of Türkiye, we want to make this period the ‘Century of Justice,’” Gürlek underlined.
He said the initiative was not merely a slogan but represented a vision in which citizens could obtain their rights more quickly, trials were concluded within reasonable periods and access to justice was made easier.
Gürlek also highlighted the “Alo Adalet 135” hotline, which was launched on Sept. 1 as a pilot program at courthouses in Ankara’s western district, Izmir and Kayseri.
The service allows citizens, particularly those involved in lengthy court cases and investigations, to submit their concerns directly to relevant judicial authorities. Gürlek said the hotline would be expanded to courthouses across Türkiye in October.
The government is also using Judicial Services Efficiency Offices to identify the causes of lengthy investigations and trials at an early stage, monitor target completion times and strengthen the administrative and technical capacity of the judiciary, he said.
Unsolved crimes, corruption
Gürlek reminded that authorities were also reviewing previously unsolved crimes using modern technology and forensic capabilities.
“Significant progress has been made in solving many previously unsolved cases,” he said, adding that the passage of time did not diminish the importance of establishing the truth.
The minister said authorities would continue efforts against drug trafficking, illegal betting, online gambling, organized crime, money laundering and digital offenses while ensuring investigations remained based on law and concrete evidence.
He also stressed that allegations of corruption involving public resources or authority should be thoroughly investigated regardless of where the evidence leads.
“We believe that every allegation of corruption that damages public conscience must be addressed within the law, meticulously and on the basis of concrete evidence,” Gürlek said.
He added that the state was not opposed to religious groups, national organizations or social initiatives serving the public interest, but would act against individuals or organizations that exploit social values, abuse public trust or use legal loopholes to obtain unlawful benefits.
The minister remarked that protecting innocent people was as fundamental to justice as punishing offenders and stressed that authorities must remain within the boundaries of the law even when combating the most serious crimes.
Referring to Türkiye’s “Terror-free Türkiye” initiative, Gürlek said the process was important for strengthening social peace and national unity, adding that the fundamental principles of the rule of law would not be compromised.
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