Fourth Week Of March – The War and The Peace

 Weekly Turkey Report: Fourth Week Of March – The War and The Peace

Executive Summary: 

• A sweeping investigation coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has targeted a bribery network embedded in local government. At the center of the operation is Usak Mayor Ozkan Yalim, who was detained at an Ankara hotel where he had been staying with his companion. Yalim has since been formally arrested.
• CHP leader Ozgur Ozel has continued to make public disclosures, backed by documentary evidence, about what he describes as the extraordinary wealth accumulated by Justice Minister Akin Gurlek. 
• On the seventh day of the detention of BirGun correspondent Ismail Ari, journalists — including detained reporters Merdan Yanardag, Pinar Gayip, and Alican Uludag — were marked by a protest held in Kadikoy Moda, Istanbul. 
• Using Nevruz celebrations as the stated justification, security forces carried out operations in sixteen provinces on charges of “spreading organizational propaganda.” To date, 195 people have been taken into custody, of whom 27 have been formally arrested after appearing before a magistrate.
•  A Gundemar survey conducted in February 2026 reveals that dissatisfaction with Turkey’s overall direction is widespread. Seventy-three percent of respondents said the country is “going in the wrong direction,” a view shared by 46 percent of MHP voters as well.

ERDOGAN REGIME: BALANCING ACT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE US

While the Erdogan administration continues to heap criticism on Israel over the US-Israel war against Iran — pointedly sidelining Washington in its public messaging — trade between Turkey and Israel is flowing at full throttle. Erdogan, whose ties with the West had reached a breaking point after the July 15 coup attempt, has now switched course again, opening Turkish territory and the Straits to NATO forces. No public announcement has been made regarding this decision. Meanwhile, the government’s policies of intimidation against the CHP, opposition civil society groups, and Kurdish communities show no signs of abating. 

IBB TRIAL: THIRD WEEK, TENSIONS PERSIST

As the trial of 402 defendants linked to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) enters its third week, the courtroom confrontations that have characterized previous hearings show no sign of letting up. The presiding panel announced that five CHP members of parliament would be barred from entering the courtroom, a decision that has only sharpened the already fraught atmosphere surrounding the case.

Murat Kapki, a businessman who has been held in pretrial detention since March 2025 in connection with the IBB case — in which he stands accused of establishing a criminal organization — submitted a ten-page bail petition to Istanbul’s 40th Heavy Criminal Court. In that petition, Kapki alleged that prosecutors had pressured him to give a statement in exchange for his release, and that he had been asked for a two-million-dollar payment as a condition of that release.

USAK MAYOR ARRESTED IN BRIBERY OPERATION

A sweeping investigation coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has targeted a bribery network embedded in local government. At the center of the operation is Usak Mayor Ozkan Yalim, who was detained at an Ankara hotel where he had been staying with his companion. Yalim has since been formally arrested.

CHP LEADER vs. JUSTICE MINISTER: ESCALATING LEGAL WAR

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel has continued to make public disclosures, backed by documentary evidence, about what he describes as the extraordinary wealth accumulated by Justice Minister Akin Gurlek. Noting that Gurlek had threatened to file a lawsuit against him but had so far failed to do so, Ozel announced that he himself would be taking legal action.

“I am filing a lawsuit based on the response he gave me,” Ozel declared. “In that case, the court will decide who is telling the truth — him or me. Our lawyers will request the land registry records. The judge will summon them to reach a verdict. Then this nation will see, in a court of law, who is lying and who is not. I say: let us stand before this nation and account for ourselves. Let him explain where money twice the size of a standard salary came from. Come on, let’s have it out!”

In addition to the sixteen property title deeds he had previously made public, Ozel unveiled documentation for another property he claims belongs to Gurlek, valued at nine million Turkish lira.

The District Land Registry Director M.D. of Cobanlar, in Afyonkarahisar, was arrested on charges of “unlawfully obtaining personal data” and “abuse of office,” after allegedly querying Justice Minister Gurlek’s title deed records without authorization. A day earlier, a civil servant identified as D.A., employed at the Kas Land Registry Office, had also been arrested on similar grounds.

Justice Minister Gurlek has in turn filed a criminal complaint against CHP leader Ozel on charges of “insult,” “defamation,” and “forgery of private documents,” and has also initiated a civil lawsuit seeking one million Turkish lira in damages.

JOURNALISTS PROTEST IN KADIKOY AMID PRESS CRACKDOWN

On the seventh day of the detention of BirGun correspondent Ismail Ari, journalists — including detained reporters Merdan Yanardag, Pinar Gayip, and Alican Uludag — were marked by a protest held in Kadikoy Moda, Istanbul. Despite the rainy weather, journalists gathered at Mehmet Ayvalitas Park and were held in place for approximately two hours; police blocked their planned march toward the waterfront.

NEVRUZ CRACKDOWN: 195 DETAINED, 27 ARRESTED

At Nevruz celebrations held in Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and numerous other cities over the weekend, President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged that provocations aimed at sabotaging “the process” had taken place. Speaking in sharp terms about the celebrations, Erdogan said: “Just as in Diyarbakir and Istanbul, we are taking the necessary action against the lowlifes who exploit Nevruz as a pretext to play on our people’s nerves. We will not tolerate any provocation that casts a shadow over the values Nevruz represents. Incitements of this kind, aimed at undermining our Terrorism-Free Turkey process, will receive the response they deserve from us.” 

Using Nevruz celebrations as the stated justification, security forces carried out operations in sixteen provinces on charges of “spreading organizational propaganda.” To date, 195 people have been taken into custody, of whom 27 have been formally arrested after appearing before a magistrate.

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakirhan confirmed in a broadcast on Medya Haber TV that a structure has been built for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on Imrali Island. “A place, a structure — or perhaps a residence — has been built for Ocalan on Imrali. In fact, there is something of a compound there, but what it will be called, what its legal status will be, and how we will describe it when he moves there — these are questions that still need to be resolved. I believe we may see developments on this front in the near future,” he said. 

FORMER AKP MP AND MUSIAD CHAIR ARRESTED IN FINANCIAL PROBE

Bayram Ali Bayramoglu, a former AKP member of parliament and former chair of MUSIAD, was taken into custody in Ankara as part of a financial crimes investigation. Bayramoglu, whose name had appeared in a criminal complaint filed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) at the end of 2025, was transferred to Istanbul by a special team — the center of the investigation — and subsequently formally arrested.

IRAN GAS CUT: TURKEY SCRAMBLES FOR ALTERNATIVES

The military escalation in the Middle East has taken on a dimension that directly jeopardizes Turkey’s energy supply security. Following an Israeli strike on Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, Tehran halted gas deliveries to Turkey entirely. Ankara is now attempting to manage the supply shortfall through Russian and Azerbaijani pipelines. 

TURKEY WITHDRAWS PERSONNEL FROM NATO IRAQ MISSION

The Ministry of National Defense announced that the “NATO Iraq Mission” has been wound down. The ministry stated: “In line with this decision, Turkish Armed Forces personnel serving in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, have been successfully evacuated to our country. Our country also provided support to allied nations’ evacuation operations under the withdrawal plan conducted by NATO.”

ERDOGAN ACKNOWLEDGES ECONOMIC FALLOUT FROM IRAN WAR

Speaking at an AK Party expanded provincial chairs meeting, Erdogan acknowledged that the Iran war could have adverse economic repercussions. “Our priority is to shield our citizens from the negative economic effects of the war,” he said. “We regard market volatility under current conditions as normal. We may face some difficulties in the near term. We may experience certain hardships on a temporary basis.” 

TURKEY-ISRAEL TRADE CONTINUES DESPITE OFFICIAL BAN

Despite Turkey’s formal decision to halt trade with Israel following its attacks on Gaza, data released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) for February 2026 reveals that trade has in fact continued. CHP Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Emir, who shared the data publicly, reacted sharply: “The trade they claimed to have severed continued while Israel was bombing Gaza, and it is continuing now during Israel’s war with Iran.”

CENTRAL BANK TO TAP GOLD RESERVES TO DEFEND TURKISH LIRA

According to a Bloomberg report citing sources close to the matter, the Central Bank of Turkey is planning to deploy its vast gold reserves — totaling 135 billion dollars — to defend the Turkish lira against the market turbulence triggered by the war in Iran.

POLL: 73% SAY TURKEY IS HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

A Gundemar survey conducted in February 2026 reveals that dissatisfaction with Turkey’s overall direction is widespread. Seventy-three percent of respondents said the country is “going in the wrong direction,” a view shared by 46 percent of MHP voters as well. The most striking finding concerns the economy: more than half of respondents identified the economy, unemployment, and inflation as the country’s most pressing problems.

54 STATE PROPERTIES TO BE PRIVATIZED FOR DEFENSE SPENDING

By presidential decree, 54 state-owned properties have been included in the privatization program, with the revenues earmarked for defense investments.

UNEMPLOYMENT HITS 21-YEAR LOW — BUT UNDEREMPLOYMENT BREAKS RECORDS

Data released by TUIK for 2025 show that the narrow unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest level in 21 years. Yet the other side of the coin tells a starkly different story: the “broad unemployment” rate — which captures underutilized labor — hit a record high of 29.7 percent. According to an analysis by Associate Professor Cem Oyvat, Turkey has fallen to 20th worst in the world on this measure, with the primary driver being a massive surge in the number of people involuntarily working part-time who wish to work more.