TURKEY: Crackdown on Opposition Figures & more – 21st Jan 2025

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 21st of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Friday the 17th, President Erdoğan, speaking at a congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party or AKP in the central city of Konya, suggested further investigations into opposition mayors, saying the opposition had no answers to corruption allegations and warned of more probes targeting key figures.

That same day, the Interior Ministry announced it had temporarily suspended Rıza Akpolat, the Beşiktaş district Mayor from the opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, who was arrested earlier this month for alleged bribery.

Similarly, in October, Esenyurt Mayor from the CHP faced charges of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which Turkey sees as terrorist group. Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s Mayor and a prominent Erdoğan rival, faces a political ban, risking his potential presidential candidacy. The CHP's surprising win in the local elections of March twenty twenty-four intensified government pressure on the opposition.

Just days after Erdoğan’s comments, on Monday the 20th, the police detained Ümit Özdağ, the head of the ultranationalist opposition Victory Party, for allegedly insulting the President, sparking objection from the opposition front.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation after Özdağ said Erdoğan caused more harm to Turkey than any Crusade in the last millennium. Özdağ, known for his anti-immigrant views, also accused Erdoğan of undermining the nation’s faith and culture through policies and immigration.

That same day, the police also detained the head of the CHP’s youth branch, for calling the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor a “mobile guillotine,” criticizing Özdağ’s arrest.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had a busy week as on Tuesday the 14th, it filed a lawsuit seeking the removal of the Istanbul Bar Association President and its executive board. This followed an investigation into a social media post by the Association that called for an inquiry into the killings of two journalists in Syria. The prosecutor alleges that the post praised members of the outlawed PKK and accused state officials of war crimes, aligning with PKK propaganda.

In response, the Istanbul Bar Association filed a lawsuit to annul the investigation, arguing it violated their constitutional duty to uphold human rights and the rule of law. The Bar also condemned the prosecutor for prematurely naming the board members as suspects in the lawsuit before the investigation had concluded.

From one lawsuit to another… On Thursday the 16th, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, withdrew its twenty twenty criminal complaint against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the former leader of the CHP. The complaint stemmed from Kılıçdaroğlu's comments in favor of jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and his description of the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, as separate from the PKK. Demirtaş had also referred to the YPG as “children protecting their homeland.” Recall that the MHP had accused Kılıçdaroğlu of praising criminals.

The MHP withdrew the complaint following the MHP leader’s recent efforts toward peace between Turkey and Kurds, including his October proposal for Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK leader, to disband the group in exchange for the possibility of his release.

On a completely different take on the YPG… On Wednesday the 15th, President Erdoğan said Turkey could crush all terrorist groups in Syria, including the Islamic State, or ISIS, and Kurdish militants, urging countries to take their hands off the region. He specifically pointed to the YPG, leading the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, a group of rebels in the region, calling it the biggest problem in Syria. Erdoğan insisted the YPG’s end was inevitable unless it laid down its arms.

He rejected the US stance on the YPG having a key role in fighting ISIS, stating that Turkey has the power to resolve the threat. Erdoğan also reiterated Turkey’s call for the U.S. to halt support for the SDF and said the new Syrian administration is willing to take over ISIS prisons from the YPG.

Still on terrorism… Last Monday the 13th, the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Terrorgram, a far-right online group, designating it a terrorist organization for promoting violent white supremacy. The U.S. sanctioned three leaders across three countries, freezing their assets and barring Americans from engaging with the group.

The United States accused the group, operating mainly on Telegram, of inciting attacks, including an August twenty twenty-four knife attack at a mosque in Turkey, where an eighteen-year-old live-streamed stabbing people, injuring five. He had a manifesto that praised far-right attackers, and now faces charges of attempted murder and creating public fear. So far, Turkey hasn’t commented on the issue or implemented any sanctions.

Some updates on international relations… On Monday the 20th, President Erdoğan and the Slovak Prime Minister signed several agreements, including one on media and communication between Turkey's Presidency of Communication and Slovakia's Government Office, a cultural cooperation deal for twenty twenty-five-twenty twenty-nine between the two Ministries of Culture. They also signed a military framework agreement.

On Wednesday the 15th, the Istanbul Transportation Coordination Center raised public transportation fares by 35%. The full ticket price increased from twenty liras, which is around sixty US cents, to twenty-seven liras, around eighty US cents.

The student ticket rose from ten liras, which is around thirty US cents, to about thirteen liras, about forty cents.

The Blue Card for full-fare travel went from 1,570 liras, around forty-five US Dollars, to 2,120 liras, around sixty Dollars. Metrobus and taxi fares also increased.

The Transportation Ministry rejected the municipality's original 46% hike proposal.

In some international news… The Iranian Supreme Court has sentenced singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death. Tataloo, a prominent figure in Iran's underground hip-hop scene, had lived in Turkey for years before the country extradited him to Iran in December twenty twenty-three. He has been detained since.

Initially, he was sentenced to five years in prison. The prosecutor appealed his sentence, prompting the court to reopen the case. However, the court took the appeal as blasphemy, increasing the charges to insulting the Prophet Muhammad, and issued a death sentence. Reports indicate the ruling can still be appealed.

This week, the AKP's spokesperson confirmed that the party has plans to pave the way for President Erdoğan to run for a fourth term in the presidential elections, with the key factor being public support. This prompted a public debate.

Erdoğan, modern Turkey's longest-serving leader, has held power for over two decades, first as prime minister and then as president. Under current rules, he's in his final term unless the constitution changes or the parliament calls an early election. A constitutional change can go to a referendum if 360 out of 600 lawmakers agree. An early election also needs 360 MPs to approve it. However, Erdoğan falls short of the number, as the AKP and its allies have 321 seats.

Speaking of the parliament, let’s see how it wrapped up twenty twenty-four: Turkey's opposition parties submitted almost 13,500 parliamentary questions, with 3,340 remaining unanswered. The parliament answered 1,814 on time, while 6,600 received delayed answers. The CHP submitted the most questions, with 5,500, followed by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, which submitted nearly 5,000, while other opposition parties like the Good Party contributed to the remaining 3,000.

The Parliament passed twenty-three bills, all proposed by the ruling AKP, though the CHP submitted the most bills, with 370.

Let’s wrap up this edition with some interesting statistics. When it comes to traffic congestion, Istanbul is not just Turkey’s but the world’s number one city. With around 5.5 million vehicles registered in the city, Inrix's twenty twenty-four Global Traffic Scorecard reveals that a person spends 105 hours in traffic each year.

However, did you know that Istanbul is the safest city in terms of traffic accidents in Turkey? From twenty twelve to twenty twenty-three, Turkey saw an average of 1.2 million traffic accidents annually, with 5,614 fatalities each year. Interestingly, Istanbul stands out as the safest city, while Bingöl ranks as the most risky. Other cities with safer traffic include northern Zonguldak, central Ankara, and northwestern Bursa. These safety figures stem from the ratio of accidents and casualties to population and vehicle numbers.

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

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