Category: Türkiye

Turkish President @RTErdogan received Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, @TRPresidency announced.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with David Lammy, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, in Ankara, @MFATurkiye announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan met with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish Foreign Minister @HakanFidan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, @MFATurkiye announced on @X.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with Mark Rutte, Secretary General of @NATO, in Antalya, as reported by @MFATurkiye.

Turkish President @RTErdogan met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh on the sidelines of the 4th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, as announced by @TRPresidency on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan received Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto at AK Party Headquarters, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Türkiye’s defense industry reached a new milestone by securing its first-ever jet engine export, signing an agreement with a Brazilian defense company for the supply of KTJ-3200 turbojet engines, as reported by @TurkiyeTodayCom.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the margins of the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, in Brussels, @MFATurkiye announced on @X.

Turkish police detained 11 people for supporting a one-day shopping boycott as part of protests against the imprisonment of President @RTErdogan’s main rival, as reported by @AP.

Turkish authorities have raided the homes of at least nine journalists, detaining them along with at least four other journalists arrested while covering the protests, and hurt numerous others, @PressFreedom stated in a report today.

Media regulators have also imposed suspensions and fines on pro-opposition broadcasters and threatened to cancel the licenses of TV channels covering the protests, @PressFreedom stated.

Turkish Foreign Minister @HakanFidan will pay on official visit to France tomorrow, as announced by @MFATurkiye on @X.

2.2 million Turkish citizens gathered in Istanbul’s Maltepe Square this morning to protest Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu’s arrest, as stated by opposition party leader @eczOzgurOzel on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, as announced by @TRPresidency on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, as announced by @TRPresidency on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, top political rival to Turkish President @RTErdogan, said his lawyer had also been arrested on false pretenses, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

Turkish prosecutors are requesting up to three years’ imprisonment for more than 70 people who were arrested for taking part in the ongoing protests, as reported by @AP.

First Lady of Türkiye Emine Erdogan met with UN Secretary-General @AntonioGuterres in New York, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

Turkish President @RTErdogan spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, @TRPresidency announced on @X.

A “Strategic Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Defense Industry” was signed between a Turkish defense subsidiary and a North Macedonian subsidiary, which will deepen the strategic partnership between Türkiye and North Macedonia, as announced by @TCSavunma on @X.

A group of 15 international human rights and media freedom groups said that “Türkiye’s authorities should immediately cease attacks on peaceful protesters, stop targeting journalists and news channels, and halt the crackdown on online speech,” @HRW announced today.

Police clashed with student protesters in Ankara early Thursday, and deployed pepper spray, plastic pellets, and water cannons to break up the protests, as reported by The @Independent.

Social media platform @X has sued the government of Türkiye after it tried to pressure the platform into blocking hundreds of accounts amid ongoing anti-government protests taking place over the arrest of key opposition figure @Ekrem_Imamoglu, as reported by @MiddleEastMnt.

President @RTErdogan met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia in Ankara today, the @TRPresidency announced on @X.

The Turkish police have now arrested nearly 1900 people during the protests against Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu’s detention, as reported by @Reuters.

A website that lists the names and logos of 20 companies said to support President @RTErdogan has been launched to coordinate a boycott, as reported by the @NYTimes.

A Chinese manufacturer will invest $1 billion in Türkiye for a new manufacturing plant, as reported by @Bloomberg.

Turkish President @RTErdogan hosted Chinese company officials at the presidential palace in Ankara and presented them with a certificate of appreciation during an official ceremony, as reported by @Reuters.

Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly @MSTanrikulu and @MTanal stated that citizens that had been detained during the protests against @Ekrem_Imamoglu’s arrest were “subjected to severe torture,” as reported by @BirGun_Gazetesi.

Head of the Türkiye’s main opposition party @eczOzgurOzel visited jailed Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu at Silivri prison yesterday, as reported by @AP.

Over 1,400 people have been arrested after one week of protests in Türkiye, including journalists, lawyers, and students, as reported by @BBCNews.

The Council of Europe is preparing to send a delegation to Türkiye, which will seek a face-to-face meeting with Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu in jail, as reported by @DW_Turkce.

“Turkish authorities must end the use of unnecessary and indiscriminate force by security forces against peaceful demonstrators and investigate unlawful acts of violence committed by police against protesters,” announced @Amnesty International.

The @FCDOGovUK advised Britons against “all travel to parts of Turkey” due to the growing unrest in Türkiye over the arrest of Istanbul mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu last week, as reported by the @Independent.

The Turkish lira fell nearly 2 percent further against the dollar on Monday, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

The U.S. mission to Türkiye warned American citizens that “attending demonstrations could result in questioning by law enforcement or detention,” per a @USEmbTurkiye announcement.

The arrest of mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu and over a thousand protesters gives rise to questions regarding Türkiye’s adherence to long-established democratic traditions, @EU_Commission spokesman @Guillaume_Mcr said on Monday, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

Turkish police detained 10 journalists on Monday morning, including an @AFP photographer, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

Turkish authorities have detained 1,133 people since the start of protests against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, @TC_Icisleri Minister @AliYerlikaya said today, as reported by @Reuters.

As part of their ongoing coverage of Turkish protests, @MarkLowen of @BBCNews will be live from Istanbul all day, marking a sixth consecutive day of what he called “a fight for democracy,” via a post on @X.

Türkiye has banned the short-selling of stocks amid a market crash, per @GonulTol on @X.

The Turkish Interior Ministry @TC_Icisleri officially announced the removal from office of democratically elected Mayor of Istanbul @Ekrem_Imamoglu, via a ministry announcement on @X.

Several hundred protesters have gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington @TC_VasingtonBE this morning to protest the Turkish government’s imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, per @PenguinSix on @X.

Turkish Interior Minister @AliYerlikaya announced via @X that 343 people had been arrested in anti-authoritarian protests across Türkiye, stating “there will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order,” as reported by @ABC.

Barring @Ekrem_Imamoglu from the presidential race would put Turkey in league with countries like Russia, Belarus or Azerbaijan, where elections happen but make little difference, said Hasan Sinar, a professor of law at Altinbas University in Istanbul, as reported by the @NYT.

Social media platform @X, owned by self-identified free speech advocate @ElonMusk, has suspended several accounts belonging to opposition figures in Türkiye amid widespread civil unrest in the country, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

Bulent Gulen, a Turkish protester, observed that “Turkey has an appearance where democracy is over, justice is over, and everyone who is not with the government is in prison,” as seen in @DemocracyNow.

Violent clashes erupted across several cities in Türkiye between opposition supporters and state security forces for a second day, where police forces fired tear gas and used water cannons, as reported by @CNN.

“Mass demonstrations took place across Turkey after authorities arrested and detained @Ekrem_Imamoglu, in a move that seemed to cement the country’s transition toward autocracy,” reported the @WashingtonPost.

Prominent Turkish journalist @IsmailSaymaz was placed under house arrest in Istanbul, which took place as a large sweep of arrests that includes Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu was carried out, as reported by @Reuters.

Turkish President @RTErdogan condemned the mass protests against the unjust imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu as “street terrorism,” he announced via a post on @X.

Turkish Ambassador @TC_VasingtonBE Sedat Önal called CAATSA sanctions, imposed on Türkiye in 2020 after their acquisition of Russian weapons, an “irritant” at an @AtlanticCouncil conference this morning.

The index of the 100 biggest Turkish stocks fell 6% on Thursday, taking losses for the week to more than 15% and setting the course for the biggest weekly decline since 2008, as reported by the @FinancialTimes @FT.

Türkiye’s main opposition leader @eczOzgurOzel said that any candidate would beat President @RTErdogan in elections, and a move to legally bar Istanbul’s detained mayor from running for president would only strengthen support, as reported by @Reuters.

The arrest of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu was a “brazen act of political suppression,” and “the Turkish government has taken a momentous step toward full-fledged autocracy,” according to @GonulTol, as seen in @ForeignAffairs.

Turkish police used force to break up pro-democracy protests, after thousands of people defied a government protesting ban to support detained mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, as reported by @MiddleEastMnt.

Demonstrations had spread to at least 32 of Turkey’s 81 provinces by Thursday night, as reported by @AFP.

Delegations from Türkiye and the United Kingdom met in Ankara yesterday to discuss Turkish acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, as reported by @NordicMonitor.

The Turkish administration of the occupied portion of Cyprus will allow hijabs to be worn in middle schools, which Turkish teacher’s union leader Selma Eylem protested, calling the decision “social engineering,” as reported by the @MiddleEastMnt.

Thousands gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall for a second consecutive night to rally against the arrest of Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, which many view as a politically driven attempt to eliminate a key rival from the next presidential race, as reported by the @WashingtonPost.

After Wednesday’s political unrest, Türkiye’s Central Bank was forced to sell off nearly $10 billion in foreign currency to prop up the Lira, which is down 15% on the dollar in the last year and 83% over the past five years, as reported by @CNBC.

Istanbul Mayor @Ekram_Imamoglu called his March 19 arrest a “coup carried out against the will of the nation to determine its own destiny,” via a post on @X.

Chancellor of Germany @Bundeskanzler @OlafScholz called @RTErdogan’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu a very, very bad sign for Turkey’s democracy and relations with the EU, as reported by @POLITICOEurope.

The 2nd Meeting between Türkiye and the People’s Republic of China for their Joint Security Cooperation Mechanism was held in Ankara, @MFATurkiye announced on @X.

The Turkish economy crash after President @RTErdogan’s key rival was arrested casts doubt on the Türkiye’s ability to sustain investor confidence, because it points to a weakening of institutions and the rule of law, says economist William Jackson, as reported by the @WSJ.

The Turkish government has seized a construction company co-owned by the detained Istanbul mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, local prosecutors announced on Thursday, as reported by @BBC.

Türkiye detained 37 people for sharing “provocative” content on social media connected to the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu, @TC_Icisleri Minister @AliYerlikaya announced this morning, as reported by @AP.

Turkish authorities identified 261 social media accounts that shared provocative posts “inciting public hatred,” and efforts to detain other suspects were continuing, @TC_icisleri Minister @AliYerlikaya announced via @X, as reported by @AP.

Russia and China were the biggest and second-biggest trade partners for Türkiye in 2024, accounting for approximately $100 billion, or one-sixth of Türkiye’s total trade, according to @Ticaret.

President of the @EU_Commission, Ursula @vonderLeyen, called the arrest of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu “deeply concerning,” as reported by the @NYTimes.

Turkish police raided the homes of 106 of Erdogan’s political opponents, according to @ElcinPoyrazlar of @POLITICOEurope.

More than 80 people have been detained so far in Turkish police raids, according to local media, as reported by the @WashingtonPost.

The @USConsIstanbul issued a Demonstration Alert due to protests in reaction to Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu’s detention, recommending Americans keep a low profile and exercise caution.

Protests near Istanbul’s main police headquarters say the detention of President @RTErdogan’s main political rival and the city’s mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu was a blow to Turkish democracy, according to @Reuters.

In response to Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu’s arrest this morning, @Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake, stated “Today’s draconian actions represent a massive escalation in the Turkish authorities’ ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent.”

“The drastic rollback of human rights witnessed in Türkiye over the last decade has laid the ground for a level of impunity for human rights violations that should be challenged,” @Amnesty included in their statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister @HakanFidan met with Chen Xiaodong, Deputy Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, in Ankara, @MFATurkiye announced today on @X.

A condemnation of Mayor Imamoglu’s arrest was handed down by @HRW Turkey Director @ESinclairWebb, who called it a “flagrant abuse of the justice system” in part of a larger “pattern of politically motivated investigations,” as reported by @Reuters.

Turkiye suffered a market tank that crashed the Lira to record lows this morning, per @Bloomberg, who is reporting that “investors dumped the nation’s assets after the arrest of a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

The impact, as reported by @WSJ:

• Lira weakened 6% vs. USD.
• The Borsa Istanbul 100 stock index fell 8.5%.
• Turkish bank stocks fell, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi’s stock fell 10%.
• The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default jumped.

Turkiye has restricted access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok on Wednesday after the detention of Istanbul Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu and around 100 others, as reported by @Reuters.

Turkish authorities have “closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests” following the arrest of Mayor @Ekrem_Imamoglu, as reported by @TimesofIsrael.

Turkish authorities arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President @RTErdogan, along with “around 100 others connected to the mayor,” as reported by @CNN.

This happens just days before the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was scheduled to hold a primary election. Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as its presidential candidate, as reported by @CNN.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called the detention “a coup attempt against our next president,” as reported by @CNN. Video from @CNN Turk showed police wearing riot gear and dozens of security vehicles outside Imamoglu’s home.

“İmamoğlu’s arrest is no coincidence. He is Erdoğan’s political nemesis, and his likely candidacy to run against him for the presidency has been weighing on Erdoğan’s mind,” @SinanCiddi, nonresident senior fellow on Turkey at the @FDD, told @FoxNews.

President @RTErdogan is seeking to meet with @POTUS during his visit to Washington in late April, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter, as reported by @Bloomberg.

Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu had his university degree cancelled, making him ineligible for the Presidency. @AP reports this move is “widely perceived as politically motivated to block the popular opposition figure and Erdogan’s key rival from running in the next Presidential race.”