TURKEY: Arrest Warrant for Kurtuluş & more – 11th Mar 2025

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 11th of March twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Saturday the 8th, a prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Ahmet Kurtuluş, the deputy chair of Istanbul's Kadıköy Municipal Council from the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party or CHP, after a dispute during a council meeting. The investigation includes charges of misuse of office and obstruction of freedom of expression.

The day before, on Friday the 7th, Kurtuluş cut off Elif Lale Bilgili, a council member from the ruling Justice and Development Party, citing time limits. Bilgili accused him of enforcing the rule selectively. Upon this, Kurtulmuş ordered her removal, saying literally, “remove this one.”

With Women’s Day around the corner, the exchange caught people’s attention. President Erdoğan seized the opportunity to call the CHP misogynistic, tying the clash to broader debates on women’s rights.

Speaking of Women’s Day, thousands of women marched on Saturday the 8th, in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district for the annual Feminist Night March, despite the Istanbul Governor’s office banning the demonstration, citing public safety. Police blocked access to Taksim Square and surrounding areas, but protesters gathered on a parallel street, chanting slogans in both Turkish and Kurdish. Police warned the crowd their slogans were illegal, likely referring to the use of Kurdish, but protesters continued in defiance.

After the march, the protestors shared a statement in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish condemning authoritarian policies, violence against women, and media suppression. The police detained over a hundred protesters, marking another heavy-handed response to the demonstration.

On Friday the 7th, Özgür Özel, the head of the CHP, expressed concern over rising violence in Syria. He pointed to clashes since December last year, between pro-Assad groups, which support the former president of Syria, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist organization.

Özel warned that the rise in civilian casualties and the threat of massacres posed a serious risk to minorities, particularly Alevis, a sect within Islam, in Latakia. He urged the Turkish government to act and support diplomatic efforts to prevent further deaths.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that over 180 people, including Alevi civilians, were killed in two days of violence.

Protests also erupted in Turkey’s Adana and Hatay provinces, condemning the attacks.

Still on the opposition, on Sunday the 9th, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Istanbul Municipality mayor, launched his primary presidential campaign in Izmir, calling the CHP primaries a democratic revolution. He said the party was rejecting centralized politics and embracing the people’s will.

On the 23rd of March, the CHP will hold its primary elections where party members will vote to choose their candidate, rather than leaving the decision to a small leadership group. İmamoğlu said this process strengthens democracy and sets an example for Turkish politics.

More on İmamoğlu, as just a few days before, on Tuesday the 4th, he said authorities had frozen assets belonging to his close associates, including those involved in his campaign and municipal contracts. A strategist involved in İmamoğlu’s campaign said his accounts and properties were frozen without explanation. He viewed the move as an attempt to sideline İmamoğlu politically. Authorities haven’t given any details on the investigation yet.

In similar news, on Friday the 7th, the Trade Ministry launched an investigation into Vedat Milor, a well-known gourmet, over a YouTube video titled A four-course meal for forty liras: Is this price real? about Istanbul Municipality’s public restaurants run by the CHP. Authorities accused him of implicit advertising after he reviewed one of İstanbul’s municipality-run restaurants offering affordable meals for forty liras, which is a little over a dollar. If found guilty, he could face a fine.

The inquiry began after someone filed a complaint through the Presidential Communication Center. Ekrem İmamoğlu condemned the move, calling it an attempt to discredit the initiative. He said the government had mocked and dismissed these restaurants and that it now targeted users because their success posed a political threat. Basically, the government doesn’t like these restaurants because the CHP governs Istanbul.

With rising economic hardship, they have become a lifeline.

Also on Friday, Turkey officially joined the Spitsbergen Treaty, expanding its rights to economic and scientific activities in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic. The agreement grants Turkish citizens and companies the right to own property, reside, and engage in fishing, mining, and maritime activities.

The treaty, signed in nineteen twenty, recognizes Norway’s sovereignty over Svalbard while allowing signatory nations equal access to its resources. With this move, Turkey aims to strengthen its Arctic research presence. Turkish scientists will be able to conduct studies in the region, and students can attend the Svalbard University Center.

On to some environmental news. İzmir’s Cleanliness Department discovered a significant environmental violation during their inspections. They found that Ekovar Çevre Grup, a recycling company, was improperly dumping waste. Investigators later stated that the waste contained radioactive materials.

İzmir’s municipality stated that it didn’t grant any permits for such dumping, emphasizing that the actions violated both environmental and radioactive waste regulations. They’ve reported the case to the İzmir Ministry of Environment, requesting legal action against those responsible.

On another note, Knight Frank, a London-based real estate firm, ranked Turkey 25th worldwide in the number of dollar millionaires. Sweden placed just above, while the Philippines and New Zealand followed.

The report found that over 6,000 people in Turkey have over ten million dollars in wealth. Globally, the United States led with over 900,000 millionaires, followed by China with nearly half that number.

The total number of individuals with at least ten million dollars grew by 41,000 last year, reaching 2.3 million. The number of people with over 100 million dollars also surpassed 100,000.

The Ministry of Trade blocked five websites promoting illegal firearm sales, citing violations of advertising regulations. The sites were ordered to remove the content within twenty-four hours but failed to comply, leading to access restrictions.

The ministry has intensified its crackdown on firearm-related ads as gun violence remains a concern. According to the twenty twenty-four Umut Foundation’s Turkey Armed Violence Map, more than 3,800 reported incidents last year resulted in about 2,400 deaths and 3,800 injuries.

On Friday the 7th, the Radio and Television Supreme Council or RTÜK signed a protocol with the Istanbul Family Foundation to regulate media content under the pretext of protecting family values. The agreement included expanding the Good Night, Children project, which promotes bedtime programming with family-friendly banners, introducing a Family-Friendly Broadcast Hour, and funding cultural productions that reinforce traditional family structures.

Ebubekir Şahin, the council’s president, said RTÜK would intensify its efforts against LGBT representation in the media, calling it a threat to national values. President Erdoğan has declared twenty twenty-five the “Year of Family,” as officials push for restrictions on gender affirmation procedures and a potential law criminalizing public expressions of LGBT identities.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the 8th, an Istanbul court accepted an indictment against Orhan Turan, the president of the Turkish Industry and Business Association or TÜSİAD, and Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras, the head of its High Advisory Council, over their remarks criticizing government policies.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office charged them with publicly spreading misleading information after they called for judicial independence at a recent association meeting.

The indictment seeks sentences ranging from two to five years. Police briefly detained them last month and imposed a travel ban over the same issue. TÜSİAD, the country’s top business group, has frequently urged for economic and legal reforms, with its latest statements drawing government backlash.

And to wrap up this edition, on Monday the 10th, Sözcü newspaper reported that BİM, Migros, and Şok, the three biggest chain markets in the country, announced they were under investigation by the Competition Authority. While the companies confirmed they were informed of the probe, they made it clear that they weren’t told why. They also stressed that the investigation doesn’t mean they’ve violated any laws or will face fines.

The Competition Authority hasn’t provided details yet. Since the news broke, BİM’s stock has dropped, with shares falling by around 4% before recovering slightly.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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