The End of July: Has the CHP Reached an Understanding with the State? 

The Weekly Turkey Report: The End of July

There is a saying in Turkey, often directed at patients with no hope of recovery: “Eat whatever you want,” the doctor says. Unlike in the West, Turkish doctors until recently would not tell a terminally ill patient the truth directly, but would instead inform their relatives. This phrase was used for people who, unaware of the seriousness of their condition, believed their health allowed them to do anything. Today, Turkey finds itself in exactly such a situation.

The grim reality is that under the AKP’s rule not only the economy, judiciary, and institutions have collapsed, but morality itself has eroded. The worship of money and the belief that wealth is the ultimate form of power—trends that began under Turgut Özal—have reached their peak under the AKP. This decay is no longer limited to bribery, theft, and plundering public resources. It now extends to turning a blind eye to others’ suffering for self‑interest, obtaining fake academic titles, and even forcing child apprentices into deadly working conditions. Last week’s agenda was dominated by incidents reflecting this moral breakdown.

İmamoğlu and the CHP

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s request to halt the cancellation of his university diploma was rejected by a court during the judicial recess. Meanwhile, prosecutors intensified a wide‑ranging operation against the CHP under the so‑called Aziz İhsan Aktaş criminal network investigation, conducting simultaneous raids in Istanbul, Antalya, Çanakkale, Trabzon, Bursa, and Giresun, detaining 20 people.

In a separate investigation into Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality affiliates İETT and İSFALT, 25 people—including İETT General Manager İrfan Demet—were detained. While five executives were arrested, Demet and 19 others were released under judicial control. Standing before the courthouse, Demet stated: “I hope justice prevails and none of my colleagues suffer.”

By contrast, a high‑ranking AKP bureaucrat caught red‑handed in a bribery case walked free. Bahattin Karakaş, former head of zoning for the AKP‑run Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, was arrested after 135,000 euros, 5 kg of gold, 75 full gold coins, 50 half coins, 1,059 quarter coins, 23 bankbooks, and 40 property deeds were found in his office. He has now been released.

The Kurdish Issue

CHP leader Özgür Özel set clear conditions for participating in the parliamentary commission planned as part of the government’s new so‑called “Terror‑Free Turkey” resolution process. Initially, he insisted that the commission must operate on equal representation or, at the very least, make decisions by qualified majority. He also demanded the release of political prisoners such as Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, İmamoğlu, and Ahmet Özer, stating that without addressing unjust detentions and ensuring fair trials, the CHP would not participate.

However, Özel quickly dropped the demand for prisoner releases. He later announced that the CHP would join the commission after the Speaker of Parliament agreed to the qualified‑majority rule. The party will now appoint ten members to represent it in the body. Commentators suggested this amounted to a tacit deal with the state: detainees would remain in prison, but no new major political arrests would be made.

Freedom of Speech 

RTÜK, Turkey’s broadcast regulator, once again targeted Sözcü TV, imposing a financial penalty and suspending its Para Politika program for five episodes. Hosted by Özlem Gürses, the show will be off‑air from August 11–15, 2025.

Economy

According to TÜRK‑İŞ, in July 2025 the hunger threshold stood at ₺26,413, while the poverty line reached ₺86,036. The monthly cost of living for a single worker rose to ₺33,982, with annual food inflation calculated at 37.32%. Prices of milk, flour, honey, and vegetables rose sharply. In a year, the hunger threshold climbed by ₺7,000 and the poverty line by ₺23,000.

Consumer prices in Istanbul increased by 2.62% month‑on‑month, with an annual rise of 42.48%. Health expenditures saw the sharpest monthly jump (8.08%), followed by housing (6.39%) and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (6.27%). Education costs showed the steepest annual increase—87.05%.

Industrial production suffered its steepest decline in ten months, while producer costs rose due to currency pressure. Istanbul Chamber of Industry President Erdal Bahçıvan warned that “alarm bells are ringing loudly” for Turkish industry and called for urgent measures.

The government’s public‑private partnership highway projects continue to drain the treasury: in the first half of 2025, ₺42.7 billion was paid to contractors under traffic‑guarantee clauses.

July saw 358 court‑granted temporary concordat orders—the highest monthly figure since 2018. In the first seven months of 2025, the number of such orders reached 1,617, a 105% increase year‑on‑year.

A planned miners’ strike was postponed for 60 days by presidential decree citing “national security.” The Turkish Bakers’ Federation announced a 20% price hike for bread, setting the maximum price for one kilogram at ₺75. In major cities, a 200‑gram loaf now costs ₺15, further eroding the purchasing power of minimum wage earners.

Meanwhile, TOGG’s factory in Bursa’s Gemlik district allegedly dismissed 200 workers during their annual leave without explanation.

Foreign Policy

US Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack told Habertürk TV that Washington is working toward a new Middle East peace architecture and that Turkey and Azerbaijan should be part of it. He indicated progress in resolving the F‑35 and S‑400 disputes.

Other Developments

A major investigation revealed an organized scheme to infiltrate state institutions with fake diplomas and forged electronic signatures. Hundreds allegedly secured positions as teachers, engineers, psychologists, and academics using fraudulent documents.

At the 50th anniversary reunion of Robert College’s Class of 1975, Osman Kavala’s classmates visited him in Silivri Prison to show solidarity.

The Constitutional Court ruled that Tayfun Kahraman, convicted in the Gezi Park trial, was denied a fair trial.

CHP MP and retired Rear Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu alleged that two soldiers who died of organ failure in İskenderun had been forced to stand under the sun for four hours as punishment by their commander.

One of the perpetrators of the 1993 Sivas Massacre, Adem Kozu, serving an aggravated life sentence, was released on health grounds by presidential order.