TURKEY: İmamoğlu’s Prison Sentence & more – 22nd July 2025

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 22nd of July twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Wednesday the 16th, a court convicted Ekrem İmamoğlu, the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul and the Republican People’s Party or CHP’s presidential candidate, of insulting a public prosecutor and sentenced him to over a year in prison. The court ruled that his January remarks about Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, where he said Gürlek was trying to intimidate citizens and vowed to rid the country of this mentality, crossed legal lines. However, it acquitted İmamoğlu of threatening the prosecutor.

İmamoğlu said that his words were political criticism, not personal threats, and that he would appeal the verdict. The sentence added to his legal battles that threaten his presidential candidacy.

On a separate note, on Monday the 21st, the CHP reported that it filed a complaint with the Judges and Prosecutors Council against Akın Gürlek and two other prosecutors involved in the corruption investigation into the Istanbul Municipality. The CHP says the investigation, ongoing since October twenty twenty-four, violates basic rights and the country’s democratic rules.

The complaint also criticized a photo of a prosecutor posing with a Renault’s White Toros, which is seen as a symbol linked to past torture cases in the country. The CHP called this disrespectful and unfair to the justice system. The party said prosecutors ignored the rule of law, like the presumption of innocence, and made it harder for defense lawyers to do their job. The CHP asked the Judges and Prosecutors Council to act quickly to protect the justice system and public trust.

On to international relations, as on Wednesday the 16th, Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Minister, said Turkey had formally condemned recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria via its intelligence channels. He called the strikes in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran part of a broader campaign Turkey views as genocidal in Gaza. Fidan stressed that Turkey is coordinating with the United States, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to avoid further regional escalation.

On the same day, the Defense Ministry labeled Israel’s strike a clear provocation and added that Turkey stands ready to support Syria’s defense and anti-terror efforts if asked. He confirmed that no Turkish forces in Syria were harmed. The Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit regime forces in Damascus and Sweida.

In some economic news, according to a Reuters survey, economists expect Turkey’s central bank to begin lowering interest rates again, possibly cutting them from 46 % to 43.5 %. Annual inflation fell to 35 % in June, and markets have calmed, but experts warn the bank must tread carefully.

Lowering interest rates can help boost the economy by making borrowing cheaper, but it can also push inflation back up. In twenty twenty-one, similar cuts triggered a collapse in the lira and a surge in the cost of living. Now, with investor nerves already tested by political pressure and opposition arrests, another misstep could have serious consequences.

Economists predict rates could fall to 36% by late twenty twenty-five, but only if inflation continues to ease and the government avoids rattling markets further.

Still on the economy, on Saturday the 19th, Turkey announced a budget deficit of about 980 billion liras, which is around twenty-four billion US Dollars, for the first half of twenty twenty-five, a jump of 31% compared to last year. While the government earned more money through taxes and other income, it also spent much more. One big reason? Interest payments on debt almost doubled, reaching over one trillion liras, around twenty-seven billion US dollars.

If you leave out those interest payments, the government actually had a small surplus of 131 billion liras, a little over thirteen billion dollars. However, in June alone, the monthly deficit was over 330 billion liras, about eight billion dollars.

Experts say this shows Turkey’s public finances are under pressure. Even if inflation is cooling, keeping the budget in check will be a big challenge in the months ahead.

Switching gears to a hot topic, this year’s high school entrance exam sparked controversy after 719 students received full marks, twice as many as last year. Many top scorers came from religious schools, raising questions about fairness.

On Tuesday the 15th, Yusuf Tekin, the Education Minister, dismissed the criticism. He said inspectors found no problems and blamed the opposition for continuing to bring up the issue. However, his remarks caused a stir when he said officials were “explaining it step by step like to someone mentally impaired,” referring to opposition figures. The comment drew widespread backlash online for being offensive and dismissive.

Reports say some exam booklets were shared on WhatsApp before tests ended, prompting investigations into twenty-nine staff members and the removal of the Education Ministry’s IT head. This led to concerns that some schools close to the government may have received favorable treatment in the exam process.

On Friday the 18th, Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Peoples’ Equality or DEM Party, met with Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party or MHP. The talks were hosted at the MHP headquarters, and marked a cautious political opening across ideological divides amid the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK’s symbolic disarmament and peace momentum.

Buldan described the meeting as very positive and constructive, saying Bahçeli expressed support for further dialogue. The session focused on expanding trust and exploring national reconciliation frameworks.

Experts highlighted the timing of the talks, saying they coincide with ongoing efforts to transition the PKK’s struggle into legal politics.

In similar news, on Friday the 18th, Devlet Bahçeli proposed having two vice presidents, one Alevi and one Kurdish - two religious and ethnic minorities in the country - to strengthen national unity and fight ethnic and sectarian divisions.

His proposition raised quite a stir from all sorts of groups, including the DEM Party, which welcomed the representation but questioned why the president couldn’t also be Kurdish, emphasising his party’s readiness to govern. He called for broader inclusion of all societal groups in leadership, highlighting the importance of diversity in the country’s political future.

On Sunday the 20th, President Erdoğan visited northern Cyprus for the 51st anniversary of Turkey’s nineteen seventy-four military intervention, which followed a Greek-backed coup on the island. Since then, Cyprus has remained divided: the Greek Cypriots govern the south, while Turkish Cypriots run the north, which only Turkey officially recognizes. Greek Cypriots want to reunify the island under one government, a plan supported by the United Nations.

During a military ceremony with the Turkish Cypriot leader, Erdoğan repeated his support for a two-state solution and urged the world to recognize the north.

On Sunday the 20th, Parliament passed a law permitting the sale of medical cannabis products in pharmacies. The legislation allows pharmacies to sell cannabis-derived medical products with a prescription. These products must contain less than 0.3% THC, the chemical responsible for cannabis’s psychoactive effects, ensuring they are non-psychoactive.

The Ministry of Health will oversee the licensing, tracking, and regulation of these products, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will regulate cultivation and harvesting.

The law aims to provide new treatment options for patients with chronic conditions such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Closing this episode with more news from Parliament, as it passed a new law on Special Consumption Taxes for cars, and this time, it’s not a price hike, at least not yet, except for 4x4 pick-up trucks. Car taxes in Turkey are based on engine size and price brackets. However, the government hasn’t updated those brackets since twenty twenty-two. As inflation pushed prices up, lower tax bands like 40% and 60% stopped being used. Although the lowest legal rate was 40%, most cars were already taxed at 80%, which is now the official minimum rate.

The law also gives the President power to change tax rates and price thresholds without Parliament’s approval. But the Constitution requires decisions to pass through Parliament, so the Constitutional Court will almost certainly cancel the law.

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

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