Latest news with #OzgurOzel
Asharq Al-Awsat
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Turkish Prosecutor Launches Probe into Main Opposition Leader
A Turkish prosecutor launched an investigation on Monday into main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel following remarks he made criticizing the government and the president, broadcaster NTV said. 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.
Bloomberg
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Pressure on Turkey Opposition Grows With Probe Into Party Leader
Turkey launched an investigation into the main opposition party's leader and arrested more of its mayors, in a widening crackdown that's likely to stoke investor anxiety over risks to the rule of law and political stability. Prosecutors started the probe into Republican People's Party Chairman Ozgur Ozel late Sunday on allegations of insulting the president and threating public officials in a speech in which he criticized the detention of the three of the party's mayors, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.
Rudaw Net
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
AKP accuses CHP leader of threatening democracy
Also in Turkey AKP lawmaker says Turkey-PKK peace process to conclude by end of 2025 Poll shows 65 percent support for Turkey-PKK peace Turkey detains three opposition mayors Hope for peace grows with new library in Turkey's Hakkari A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Saturday lashed out at Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), accusing his remarks of threatening democracy after three CHP mayors were detained on alleged corruption charges. 'His words have no value. Ozgur Ozel thinks elections are run with the same mentality as a CHP congress. Democracy and CHP congress mentality are not the same thing,' AKP spokesperson Omer Celik said, calling Ozel's remarks a 'threat to democracy.' Ozel on Saturday held a high-level CHP leadership meeting and threatened to call on citizens to take to the streets in large-scale demonstrations after three CHP mayors in southern Turkey were detained. 'You fear mass gatherings and demonstrations, so when I call people to the squares, you immediately take harsh security measures and ban them. Demonstrations are democracy. I know what day I will call people to the streets. Do not make me call people to the streets,' Ozel told reporters after the meeting. Turkish authorities on Saturday detained the mayors of the southern cities of Antalya and Adana, as well as the southeastern Kurdish city of Adiyaman (Semsur) – all CHP members – on charges of fixing tenders through bribing mayors and senior municipal executives. The arrests came as part of a wider investigation into alleged graft within CHP-led administrations, according to the state-owned Anadolu Agency. The practice of dismissing elected officials has been ongoing for years. Dozens of mainly Kurdish mayors have been removed from their posts since 2016 and sentenced on terrorism-related charges for alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara has designated a terrorist organization. More recently, the AKP-led government has cracked down on CHP and other opposition mayors, detaining them largely on cases of alleged corruption. On Thursday, a raid sparked by an alleged corruption case at the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality - a key CHP bastion - resulted in the arrests of 60 people, including former Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer and the head of CHP's Izmir branch Senol Aslanoglu. In March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sacked from his position on charges of corruption. Considered the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming 2028 elections, his arrest sparked Turkey's worst unrest in a decade, which in turn led to a massive crackdown on protests. The dismissed mayors are replaced with state-appointed trustees.
Bloomberg
02-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Turkish Bonds Erase 2025 Loss After Court Delay Spurs Rally
Turkey's lira-denominated bonds erased their year-to-date losses after a court's decision to postpone its ruling on the country's opposition leader spurred a rally of over 3% in just two days. Two-year yields currently stand at 39.76%, having dropped about 200 basis points so far this week, after the court delayed its ruling on a case that could unseat Ozgur Ozel. That's taken borrowing costs back to levels seen just before the March arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu triggered a wave of nationwide protests and fueled a selloff in Turkish assets.
Malay Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Istanbul mayor jailed and protests rage: Aftermath as Erdogan eyes compliant opposition in Turkiye's leadership shake-up
ANKARA, June 30 — A court hearing that could upend the leadership of Turkey's main opposition CHP is the latest bid to hobble the party behind a wave of spring protests that shook the government, analysts say. The hearing, which takes place on Monday at an Ankara court, could render null and void the result of a leadership primary within the Republican People's Party (CHP) in November 2023 on grounds of alleged fraud — thereby overturning the election of leader Ozgur Ozel. In February, the Ankara public prosecutor opened an investigation into allegations of vote buying at the congress which resulted in Ozel defeating longtime incumbent Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The CHP has denied the allegations. The outcome could see several CHP figures — including jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — facing up to three years in prison and a political ban for graft, Turkish media reported. And if the election result is cancelled, the party leadership would almost certainly revert to 76-year-old Kilicdaroglu. He was ousted five months after losing a bitterly fought presidential campaign against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was widely seen as the most important vote in generations, leaving the party in crisis. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) arrives for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, on June 25, 2025. NATO leaders hold a two-day summit on June 24 and 25 in The Hague. — AFP pic Taming the opposition 'This is a bid to reshape the CHP and create an opposition that is controlled by a government which is becoming more and more authoritarian,' Berk Esen, a political science expert at Istanbul's Sabanci University, told AFP. 'This will provoke a split within the party, putting a weak, defeated leader in charge whom the voters don't want any more,' he said. Kilicdaroglu has already said he would be willing to take on the party leadership again if the court overturned the primary result, sparking uproar within the CHP. 'It would be out of the question to not recognise such a verdict. Would it be better if a trustee was appointed to lead the party?' he said, also voicing his disapproval of the mass protests called by the CHP following Imamoglu's arrest and jailing in March. Widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was arrested in connection with a graft and terror probe which the CHP has denounced as groundless. He was jailed on the day that he was named CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential race, his removal sparking Turkey's worst street unrest since 2013. 'I feel a deep sense of betrayal. I cannot stomach such remarks when so many people are in prison,' Imamoglu said in response to Kilicdaroglu's remarks. 'Kilicdaroglu is a politician who will be remembered very badly. Some accuse him of working for (Erdogan's ruling) AKP but I think it's more a case of his ambition knowing no bounds,' said Esen. 'He is collaborating with an authoritarian government in order to get his own power back.' Following Imamoglu's arrest, Ozel went from being a relatively low-profile leader to the face of the protests, his impassioned speeches sharpening both his own image and that of the CHP, which has since held rallies across the country and is now leading the polls. According to a survey by Ank-Ar Research published last week, if an election were to be held now, the CHP would win 34.6 percent, more than five percentage points higher than the 29.4 percent for the AKP. And the government is not happy. Protesters and members of the Collective for the Defence of Human Rights in Turkey demonstrate outside the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 25, 2025. — AFP pic No more demonstrations 'From the government's perspective, it is crucial they get the CHP off the streets because Ozel is seen as dangerous,' said Eren Aksoyoglu, an expert in political communication. 'By contrast, Kilicdaroglu is making conciliatory noises to those in power, saying he no longer wants any demonstrations and that he is ready to negotiate a change to the constitution,' he said. If he were to take over the party leadership, it would 'put the CHP in a position where it was negotiating with the government rather than fighting it,' agreed Esen. Observers say a more sympathetic opposition would give Erdogan much greater room for manoeuvre in the government's negotiations with the PKK after the Kurdish militants said they were ending their decades-long armed struggle. It could also help the government push through a constitutional amendment to allow Erdogan to extend his term in office beyond 2028 — a step that would require opposition support to be voted through. 'I don't think Kilicdaroglu would be able to hold on to the CHP leadership in the long term, but if the process (of leadership change) is drawn out over the course of a year, for example, that would let the government to change the constitution,' said Esen. And that would spell 'total disaster for the opposition', he said. In any event, Monday's hearing would likely spark 'a new wave of protest, which will have economic and political consequences for the government', he added. — AFP
