Turkish Prosecutor Launches Probe into Main Opposition Leader
The prosecutor in capital Ankara will investigate Republic People's Party (CHP) head Ozel's Saturday statements on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, publicly inciting to commit a crime, and insulting and threatening public officials, NTV reported.
In his speech, Ozel was criticizing the widening crackdown on the opposition-run municipalities after Turkish authorities detained three more mayors on Saturday over corruption charges, according to Reuters.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Investigation Finds Bay FC Coach Did Not Violate the NWSL's Harassment and Bullying Policy
An independent investigation found that Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya did not violate the National Women's Soccer League's antiharassment, discrimination, and bullying policy, but found shortcomings in his communication style. The investigation stemmed from a report in the San Francisco Chronicle in March that described a toxic work environment. At least two formal complaints had been made about the team, the newspaper reported. Montoya was investigated for alleged violations of the 'Policy to Prevent and Eliminate Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying.' The findings were announced Tuesday. All parties cooperated with the investigation, which was conducted by New York–based law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. 'The league conducted a comprehensive review and determined Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya was not in violation of any league rules,' Bay FC said in a statement in response to the league's announcement. 'We are grateful the league has identified opportunities for additional communication improvements, which we are and have been implementing. We strive to be a player-centric club and will continue to work hard to make sure we have a supportive environment for our players. We believe in the culture we are building at Bay FC and will continue to support our players' growth on and off the pitch.' Among the findings were recommendations to facilitate more effective communication and enhance support structures, which the NWSL, Bay FC, and coach Montoya have taken and are continuing to take to address such concerns, the league said. The NWSL was rocked by an abuse and misconduct scandal in 2021. Five coaches resigned or were fired in the aftermath. In response, the NWSL implemented changes to protect players, including enhanced vetting of club employees and an anonymous tip line for players. The NWSL Players Association also negotiated safeguards in its collective-bargaining agreement with the league.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Armenian Lawmakers Brawl as the Government Cracks Down on Its Political Opponents
A brawl erupted Tuesday in Armenia's National Assembly involving an opposition lawmaker who was later stripped of his parliamentary immunity and faces prosecution for calling for the ouster of President Nikol Pashinyan, as political tensions flared in the South Caucasus country. Artur Sargsyan, who represents the opposition bloc Armenia, had finished a speech in which he said the case against him had been decided ahead of time and tried to leave the chamber. Other lawmakers then moved to stop him, and security guards flooded in, according to video from news outlets. In his speech, Sargsyan said, 'Armenia has become a bastion of dictatorship where everything is decided in advance, written down, approved.' Lawmakers later voted to strip Sargsyan of his parliamentary immunity, opening him up to prosecution. He turned himself in to Armenia's Investigative Committee, which had accused him and 15 others of plotting to overthrow the government. Pashinyan's government has been cracking down on political opponents he has said are trying to engineer a coup. Various members of the opposition, including the influential Armenian Apostolic Church, have been leading demonstrations urging Pashinyan's ouster after he agreed to territorial concessions in the country's decades-long battle with neighboring Azerbaijan for control of disputed regions. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan and Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, both senior church leaders, are in pretrial detention after being accused of taking part in the alleged plot. On June 28, crowds of supporters gathered at church headquarters outside the capital of Yerevan to prevent Ajapahyan's arrest. He later turned himself in to the authorities. The Investigative Committee said conspirators planned to carry out bombings and arson to disrupt power supplies and stage accidents on major roads to paralyze traffic. Both men rejected the charges against them. Ajapahyan and Galstanyan are members of the opposition group Sacred Struggle, which took a central role in anti-Pashinyan demonstrations last year. Although the territorial concessions were the movement's core issue, it has expanded to a wide array of complaints about Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018. It has also sparked increasing friction between the president and the church in recent weeks. In a social media post Monday, Pashinyan said, 'I will liberate the Armenian Apostolic Church from its anti-Christian, adulterous, anti-national, anti-state leadership.' Police on Monday raided one of the country's major energy providers, which is owned by another Pashinyan critic, Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. Parliament adopted a law allowing for nationalizing the company on July 3, days after Karapetyan was arrested for calling for the ouster of the government. 'The raid began in the morning, and it was unclear which branch of the government or security services was carrying it out,' said company spokesperson Natalya Sarjanyan. 'We do not know which department these people are from, but we are not allowed into the office,' she said. Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in territorial disputes since the early 1990s as various parts of the Soviet Union pressed for independence from Moscow. After the USSR collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatist forces backed by the Armenian military won control of Azerbaijan's region of Karabakh and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured broad swaths of territory that were held for nearly three decades by Armenian forces. A swift military campaign in September 2023 saw Azerbaijan gain full control of Karabakh, and Armenia later handed over the border villages.
Al Arabiya
10 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
PKK to begin handing over arms in Iraq on Friday as part of peace deal with Turkey
Militant fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will begin handing over weapons in groups in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday as part of a peace process with Turkey, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday. The PKK - locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades - decided in May to disband and end its struggle, following a public call from the group's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February. NTV said, without citing sources, that Ocalan would send a video message to the PKK's base in northern Iraq's mountainous Qandil region to call for a mechanism for the disarmament process. It would be the first video featuring his face and voice since his jailing in 1999. The whole process is expected to take around two to five months, NTV said, adding that militants who hand in weapons will stay in Iraq and halt any PKK activities. On Monday, a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party - Turkey's third-biggest party, which played a key role facilitating the disarmament decision - met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the process. NTV earlier reported that Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey's MIT intelligence agency, would travel to Baghdad on Tuesday for talks with Iraqi officials to discuss the weapons handover. Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Turkey in 1984 - originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state - the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fueled social tensions. Ankara says skirmishes between Turkish soldiers and PKK militants in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq have continued since the group's decision to disband, adding that Turkey was still raiding PKK storage areas and bases in the region.
