Politics
UN chief decries ‘discouraging’ steps in Cyprus
The presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) announced on Sunday that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres replied to a letter written by TRNC President Tufan Erhürman and branded moves by Greek Cypriots as “discouraging.”
Erhürman sent a letter to Guterres in August, complaining that the Greek Cypriot administration sought to ban cultural and sports events such as music festivals and a football camp by Spanish club Barcelona on the Turkish side of the divided island.
A statement by the presidency said that Guterres lamented the fact that these may prevent building confidence between two sides on the island.
Cyprus has remained divided for more than five decades between the Turkish Cypriot north and the Greek Cypriot south despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. The TRNC was established in 1983 and is recognized only by Türkiye, while the Greek Cypriot administration represents the island internationally and joined the European Union in 2004.
Turkish officials and leaders in Turkish Cyprus have increasingly advocated a two-state solution to the dispute, arguing that decades of United Nations-led negotiations for a federal settlement have failed to produce results.
In his letter, Guterres drew attention to the need to continue cooperation and confidence building between the two sides, noting that they were necessary to launch the process for a lasting solution. Underlining the importance of implementing confidence-building measures as a priority, Guterres said he had instructed his personal envoy to continue working with both sides on the implementation of these initiatives, according to a statement by the TRNC presidency. He also said he had requested that all relevant actors be reminded that actions undermining efforts to build trust, including the cancellation of events, ran counter to joint efforts. At the end of his letter, the U.N. secretary-general reaffirmed his commitment to supporting efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus issue.
A similar message was conveyed in a response dated Oct. 6, 2026, to a letter Erhürman had sent to the European Commission on Aug. 28, 2026, on the same issue. The commission stressed the importance of building trust between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots and fostering a positive atmosphere. Quoting the 2004 European Union Council decision on ending the isolation of Turkish Cypriots, it highlighted the goals of building bridges between Turkish Cypriots and the EU, promoting dialogue and fostering closer ties. The European Commission also said that civil society and private organizations contributing to the socioeconomic development of Turkish Cypriots, particularly young people, were in line with the goal of establishing closer relations between Turkish Cypriots and the EU.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairperson Devlet Bahçeli on Tuesday firmly rejected proposals for a federal settlement in Cyprus, warning that any concessions affecting Turkish Cypriot sovereignty would threaten the island’s future.
Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, Bahçeli said Türkiye was closely monitoring contacts between representatives of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek Cypriot administration.
He expressed concern over reports in the Greek Cypriot media suggesting that the Maraş (Varosha) district could be placed under United Nations administration and Famagusta Port operated under European Commission supervision.
“A united Cyprus federation is nothing but a fantasy and would spell disaster for Turkish sovereignty,” Bahçeli stressed.
He urged Turkish Cypriots to remain vigilant, accusing the Greek Cypriot administration of increasingly aligning itself with Israel’s regional security interests.
“Cyprus has been Turkish for centuries and will remain Turkish forever,” he declared.
Terror-free Türkiye vision
Turning to Türkiye’s ongoing “Terror-free Türkiye” initiative, Bahçeli emphasized that lasting security required a combination of political determination, legal safeguards and public consensus.
He warned that armed groups operating beyond Türkiye’s borders continued to threaten regional stability, stressing that Ankara’s domestic counterterrorism objectives could not be separated from broader regional security.
Bahçeli also called for greater investment in technology, industrial production, agricultural productivity and energy independence, urging universities to contribute more directly to national development.
Addressing regional developments, he condemned Israel’s military actions and expansionist policies, calling for stronger international measures to halt the violence.
He also urged multilateral diplomatic efforts to address instability originating in Yemen and attacks targeting civilians in Saudi Arabia.
The MHP leader further reaffirmed his support for Türkiye’s multidimensional foreign policy, emphasizing cooperation with the Turkic world, Europe and neighboring regions.
Turkish prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to 50 years for 22 former judges and prosecutors accused of orchestrating unlawful detentions in the so-called Revolutionary Headquarters (“Devrimci Karargah”) case, allegedly acting in the interests of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
An indictment prepared by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul accuses the former judicial officials of abusing their authority to deprive individuals of their liberty through unlawful detention and imprisonment orders between 2009 and 2012, Sabah newspaper reported.
The indictment, accepted by the Bakırköy 7th High Criminal Court, seeks sentences ranging from 10 to 50 years under provisions of the Turkish Penal Code concerning deprivation of liberty through abuse of public office.
Among the defendants are former prosecutors Mehmet Berk and Mehmet Karababa, former judges Ömer Diken and Ali Efendi Peksak, and Metin Özçelik and Rüstem Eryılmaz, all of whom previously held positions in now-defunct specially authorized courts.
Prosecutors allege the defendants acted in accordance with FETÖ’s objectives rather than independently assessing evidence, systematically ordering arrests, extending detentions and rejecting release requests despite insufficient grounds.
Former police chief targeted
The “Revolutionary Headquarters” case became widely known following the arrest of former police chief Hanefi Avcı, who had exposed alleged FETÖ infiltration of Türkiye’s police and judiciary in his book.
Avcı was detained in September 2010, shortly after the book’s publication, and accused of assisting the far-left Revolutionary Headquarters organization and leaking judicial wiretaps.
He was sentenced to 15 years and four months in prison and spent approximately three years and nine months behind bars before being released in June 2014 following a Constitutional Court ruling that his rights had been violated. He was subsequently acquitted.
The latest prosecution followed compensation lawsuits filed by five individuals who were acquitted of charges related to the Revolutionary Headquarters case.
Özgür Cafer Kalafat, Gülseren Poyraz, Muhammet Çetin, Süleyman Gürkan Anıl and Onur Sarıefe successfully sued the Treasury over their detentions, resulting in compensation payments by the state.
According to the indictment, those payments constituted financial losses to the public Treasury and prompted authorities to investigate the judicial officials responsible for the detention decisions.
The Council of Judges and Prosecutors authorized prosecution in October 2024. All 22 defendants had previously been dismissed from judicial service over alleged FETÖ links.
Several defendants also played roles in other controversial investigations, including the Ergenekon, Balyoz (Sledgehammer), match-fixing, Poyrazköy and Hrant Dink cases, which Turkish authorities have described as judicial plots linked to FETÖ.
The indictment alleges the former judicial officials violated principles of impartiality, independence and due process by using their positions to advance the group’s objectives.
Ergenekon, Balyoz, Dink cases
FETÖ was also involved in several high-profile trials, Ergenekon and Balyoz. The Ergenekon conspiracy probe, dating back to 2007, led to a series of trials of military officers, politicians, academics and journalists alleged to be members of Ergenekon, a clandestine organization accused of plotting against the government.
They were convicted in 2013, but the Supreme Court of Appeals later overturned hundreds of convictions in the case. Later, Turkish authorities announced that the 2013 Ergenekon trial was based on fabricated evidence and blamed the prosecutors, who were FETÖ member soldiers, for trying to purge the military of rival officers.
In the Balyoz case, hundreds of Turkish military personnel, including high-ranking generals, were convicted for plotting a coup against the then-newly elected Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in 2003.
Moreover, the killing of an Armenian Turkish journalist, Hrant Dink, in 2007 was FETÖ’s first attempt to implicate state officials seeking to curb FETÖ’s influence.
Dink, editor-in-chief of the dual-language Agos newspaper, was killed outside his Istanbul office on Jan. 19, 2007, in a case that has since stirred outrage and intrigue.
Gülen was indicted in April 2017 over Dink’s murder, with the prosecution asking for a life sentence and arguing the incident was the beginning of FETÖ’s violent acts to take over the legislative, executive and judicial organs, and all the other state institutions, including the armed forces and police, in Türkiye.
The 120-page indictment said that soldiers and police involved in the Dink murder later played an active role in the July 15 attempted coup, in which 252 people were killed.
Shifting allegiances in the Turkish opposition laid bare cracks among followers of similar ideologies. The New Party (YP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) found another reason to attack each other after authorities appointed trustees to Halk TV, a prominent opposition outlet. Halk TV, initially aligned with the CHP, was quick to endorse Özgür Özel after the latter established YP in July, shortly after his ouster as CHP chairman. Last week, authorities launched an operation to capture suspects, including Halk TV owner Cafer Mahiroğlu, on charges of corruption. Mahiroğlu is accused of corruption in public tenders linked to municipalities of the CHP during the tenure of Özel.
CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was reinstated to office in May, was the target of Halk TV through negative coverage and has accused it of disseminating fake news. YP supporters were quick to link the corruption probe to Kılıçdaroğlu’s criticism, while the CHP leader denied having any role in the investigation. Kılıçdaroğlu’s supporters, on the other hand, point to shady ties between Halk TV and the Özel-era CHP. The CHP’s provincial branch chair in the central province of Eskişehir, Volkan Enver Kılıç, was vocal in backing the trustee appointment to Halk TV but in turn, incurred the wrath of YP Eskişehir lawmaker Ibrahim Arslan, who branded him a “lowlife.”
Kılıç, however, continued his criticism of the former CHP administration and claimed the party’s mayors were forced to sponsor the TV station. In a statement on Sunday, Kılıç claimed the CHP, under Özel, delivered TL 80 million to Halk TV, “a liar who is living abroad as a fugitive.”
“Halk TV is not a media outlet that was seized because of its journalistic and broadcasting activities. It was seized over allegations of corruption and money laundering amounting to TL 30 billion, as well as alleged commercial fraud, involving its fugitive owner, Cafer Özdemir, who changed his surname to Mahiroğlu. How many millions, or even billions, of liras have you funneled to Halk TV’s fugitive owner from municipalities over the years under the banner of ‘Görkemli Hatıralar?’ Didn’t you pressure mayors to sponsor the program with millions of liras? The facts are there. So are the indictments,” Kılıç said in a statement addressed to the YP cadres.
He was referring to a travel show – which is currently the only show on air at Halk TV – where municipalities run by the CHP were promoted through well-disguised ads. He stated that the municipalities paid at least TL 1 million for securing a spot in one episode of the show. Kılıç also claimed that Mahiroğlu was also involved in the sale of textiles to municipalities.
Addressing a gathering of mukhtars (village and neighborhood headmen) on the occasion of Mukhtars’ Day on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye was surrounded by a “ring of fire.” “We work day and night to spare Türkiye from the turmoil in the region,” he said, referring to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia that killed more than a dozen people at an airport in Riyadh earlier this month. He also warned against “Zionist Israel doing everything to stir up strife in Syria.”
The president lamented that Israel continued its attacks on Palestine despite cease-fire deals.
“We managed to keep our country away from the conflicts around it. We have not fallen for incitement or provocation. We managed tough processes sensibly and patiently. But as long as we bravely stand with the oppressed, regardless of their faith, just as our ancestors did, they are going to work against us,” he said, in reference to Israel. “We will remain alert to those trying to dash the hopes of our nation, undermine our morale and sow the seeds of discord in our nation,” he added.
“We are in the middle of a great struggle,” he said, also warning against “those seeking to tear our region to shreds.”
Erdoğan’s statements follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s press conference over the weekend, during which he signaled a direct confrontation with Türkiye in the future. Netanyahu often portrays Türkiye as a threat as part of his campaign ahead of upcoming elections. The Israeli prime minister and his ministers have threatened Türkiye and sought to discredit the Erdoğan administration through anti-Turkish rhetoric, while Erdoğan has raised the issue of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians on every possible platform. Most recently, he highlighted Israel’s crimes at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.
“A storm of crises, growing increasingly severe, is sweeping through our region. The Russia-Ukraine war, just to our north, will enter its fifth year in a few months. Israel’s attacks on Palestine continue unabated despite the agreements signed. Before tensions in our neighbor Iran have fully subsided, a new conflict has now been ignited in Yemen. The Houthi attacks targeting our friend and brother, Saudi Arabia, have further escalated tensions in our region. In the attack they carried out on the airport in Riyadh, many of our Muslim brothers and sisters, including pilgrims traveling for Umrah, lost their lives. Hundreds more were injured,” Erdoğan highlighted. Türkiye has pledged military assistance to Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks and is part of the Mecca Defense Alliance, which stems from a joint defense agreement Erdoğan signed with Saudi and Pakistani officials in August.
“Unfortunately, the situation in Lebanon is far from encouraging either. We are receiving good news from Syria, but Zionist Israel is doing everything it can to sow discord there as well,” Erdoğan also said. Israel struck Abu Duhur Air Base in Syria last August, claiming that Türkiye would move its troops there, following the fall of the Baathist regime in Syria.
“Remember, great nations face great tests. Throughout history, the Turkish nation has faced truly great trials, just as it has achieved great victories and waged great struggles,” Erdoğan said.
“Sometimes they will target us through their agents operating within our country under the guise of righteousness, such as FETÖ, sometimes through their lobbies abroad, sometimes through their economic hitmen; sometimes through their proxies in the international media and sometimes through their instruments on social media,” Erdoğan also said. The Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) targeted Erdoğan in 2016, with a coup attempt by its military infiltrators. Erdoğan escaped the assassination attempt by the group during the coup bid, which was thwarted, at the cost of more than 250 people who died while resisting putschists.
“They will try to distract us and divert us from our path. They will seek to clip our claws and make us abandon our ambitions. God willing, we will not give them that opportunity. We will not bow to those who seek to build a system of prosperity for themselves by exploiting the world and turning our region into a sea of blood. We will remain extremely vigilant against dark and dirty schemes and all such plots. We will stay alert to those who seek to pit Muslims against one another. We will always remain on guard against those who try to shatter our nation’s hopes, undermine its morale and erect walls of discord among us,” Erdoğan also said.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to discuss regional security issues, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said Monday.
The two ministers discussed regional security developments, particularly attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the sources.
The call came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East over the war involving Iran and renewed fighting in Yemen, where Houthi rebels have targeted Saudi energy infrastructure and aviation facilities, including airports.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015, after the group seized the capital, Sanaa, and other parts of the country in 2014.
The Houthis have declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and captured territory around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a Red Sea choke point and vital export route for Saudi oil.
The Red Sea is a key shipping route, connecting Asia with Europe via Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Turkish security forces detained 39 suspects in separate counterterrorism operations targeting the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the Daesh terrorist group in Ankara, Izmir and other provinces, prosecutors and security sources said Tuesday.
The operations targeted suspected members of FETÖ’s clandestine networks within law enforcement, individuals accused of spreading propaganda on social media and a financial network allegedly linked to Daesh activities in Syria.
In the western province of Izmir, police detained 16 suspects in coordinated raids conducted under the supervision of the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Six suspects, including three dismissed police officers and an actively employed teacher, were detained over involvement in FETÖ’s covert network within the police. Another 10 suspects were apprehended in a separate operation targeting the group’s social media propaganda network.
In the capital Ankara, prosecutors ordered the detention of 10 suspects accused of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging application associated with FETÖ.
Nine suspects, including individuals from a group that reportedly comprises a serving specialist teacher and a psychologist, were detained during simultaneous raids on Tuesday. Authorities continued searching for the remaining suspect.
Daesh financing ring exposed
In a separate investigation, Ankara prosecutors identified 16 suspects allegedly involved in financing Daesh activities in Syria, leading to the detention of 14 people in coordinated raids across multiple provinces.
The investigation followed intelligence provided by the German Embassy in Ankara concerning fundraising networks operating in German-speaking countries.
According to prosecutors, donations were allegedly collected through Telegram channels to secure the release of Daesh members held in camps controlled by the PKK/YPG in northern Syria or provide them with financial assistance.
Financial intelligence from Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), alongside telecommunications records, helped identify the suspects, including two Syrian nationals and one Uzbek national.
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