Image created by Arzu Geybullayeva using Canva Pro.

Turkey's political and civic landscape remains in turmoil as unsettling developments continue to pressure democratic institutions and fundamental freedoms. A legal challenge to the leadership of the country's main opposition party, the ongoing legal persecution of Istanbul's popular mayor, the arrest of a prominent journalist, and sweeping detentions during banned LGBTQ+ Pride marches are just some of the most recent examples of tightening state control.

Turkey's main opposition party on trial

On June 30, a court in Ankara convened for a “mutlak butlan” (absolute nullity) case, aiming to annul the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's largest opposition group. The party's 38th ordinary congress, held in November 2023, saw Özgür Özel elected as the new party leader, ousting long-time chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

The lawsuit, initiated by a party member reportedly aligned with Kılıçdaroğlu, alleges procedural violations and potential “vote buying” during the congress, raising questions about the legitimacy of Özel's leadership. Meanwhile, Özel's team maintains the case should be dismissed, arguing that the lawsuit is invalid, the filing period had expired, and that political party conventions fall under electoral board jurisdiction, not civil courts.

Should the courts deem the 2023 congress legally void, it could trigger a full-scale leadership crisis, potentially paving the way for Kılıçdaroğlu's return. Such a ruling would also nullify all decisions taken by the party's current leadership since the congress.

On June 19, all 81 provincial chairpersons of the CHP met in Ankara, where they unanimously stated they will not recognize the court order, nor the appointment of the trustee to the party's leadership. The ruling party has consistently used government-commissioned mechanisms to appoint trustees to replace elected mayors in pro-Kurdish municipalities, effectively nullifying electoral outcomes. Except in the case of political parties, the government cannot appoint an external leader; it must be someone from within the political party.

The case has been adjourned until September 8, leaving the CHP's leadership in prolonged limbo. This legal challenge comes amidst broader efforts that critics view as attempts by the ruling party to sow discord within the opposition – especially following the CHP's recent gains in the local elections, as well as the rising popularity of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the thrice-elected mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), and his presidential candidacy in the upcoming 2028 general election.

In a sweeping crackdown on alleged corruption and terror links on March 19 – just as he was poised to be nominated as the CHP’s presidential candidate for the 2028 elections – İmamoğlu was detained and then arrested. Since then, a systematic campaign of arrests and investigations targeting the CHP and other civic actors has continued unabated, putting both Turkey's democratic path and its rule of law under the spotlight.

The most recent wave of arrests took place on July 1; this time, against Izmir Municipality and its employees. Current CHP leader Özgür Özel is also under investigation for allegedly “threatening” and “insulting” the Istanbul chief public prosecutor.

The Özel party faction believes Kılıçdaroğlu's return to be an act of vengeance – an attempt to regain leadership. Should he return, they suspect he would purge any internal rivals, including the popular mayor, which would play into the ruling party’s hands. In Kılıçdaroğlu's 13 years of leadership, he lost every single country-wide election, including 2023's general election.

Another trial for Istanbul’s mayor

Meanwhile, İmamoğlu had a court hearing on June 16, this time on charges of threatening a public prosecutor and insulting a public official. The charges stem from critical remarks İmamoğlu made during a 2022 television interview. Prosecutors are reportedly seeking over seven years in prison, along with a potential political ban that could bar him from future elections.

Other accusations leveled against İmamoğlu and numerous municipality officials include “aiding a terrorist organization” – specifically, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). These charges stem from the CHP’s cooperation with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in the last municipal elections. This “urban consensus” strategy, where the DEM did not field candidates in certain districts and the CHP adjusted its selections, is now portrayed by prosecutors as being orchestrated by the PKK.

All this is happening even as İmamoğlu faces another legal battle: on December 14, 2024, an Istanbul court sentenced him to two years and seven months in jail for allegedly insulting public officials in a speech he gave after winning the 2019 Istanbul municipal elections. The case is currently being appealed, though many critics suspect this higher court will uphold the verdict.

İmamoğlu's lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, was detained on June 19 in connection with the ongoing investigation targeting his client and other municipal officials, with Human Rights Watch noting that his detention was likely in retaliation for his public statements, and for his representation of İmamoğlu.

İmamoğlu's June 16 hearing has been adjourned until July 16, and his X account is no longer accessible in Turkey. Authorities blocked it back in May, citing a tweet which they claimed could incite criminal activity. Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has also banned the use of images, videos and audio recordings of İmamoğlu in public spaces.

Journalist Fatih Altaylı's arrest raises censorship alarms

On June 22, veteran journalist and commentator Fatih Altaylı was arrested for allegedly “threatening” President Erdoğan, based on remarks he made in a video on his YouTube channel.

Against the historical backdrop of Turkish citizens opposing dictatorial rule, Altaylı said, “Look at the history of this nation. This is a nation that has strangled its own sultans when they didn’t like them; when they didn’t want them. It's no small number — Ottoman sultans who were killed, fell victim to assassinations, were strangled, or made to look like they committed suicide.” Despite attempts to clarify that Altayli's comments were given in a historical context, government supporters and trolls shared his words without that context on social media platforms, causing him to be sent to pretrial detention.

The charge, under Article 310 of the Turkish Penal Code which criminalizes threats against the president, has become a frequently used tool to quell dissent. Media freedom advocates, including Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), and the International Press Institute (IPI), have unequivocally condemned Altaylı's arrest as a blatant attempt to silence critical voices and further shrink the space for free expression.

Despite being jailed, Altaylı’s online presence continues. His YouTube channel, which previously streamed an empty chair in protest of his detention, now features narrated letters that he sends from prison. These shorter videos recount his experiences, describe prison conditions, detail his meetings with lawyers and family, and remarkably, still manage to offer his reflections on key news stories from both Turkey and abroad, serving as a “Silivri Diary” for his audience.

Crackdown on Pride

Adding to the climate of repression and human rights concerns, Turkish police conducted sweeping detentions during LGBTQ+ Pride events held across the country on June 29. In Istanbul alone, at least 50 individuals were detained, with reports from rights groups like Kaos GL stating the figure was 54, including six lawyers and three journalists.

Participants of Pride marches – ostensibly banned since 2015 – have faced violent police interventions. Authorities have routinely responded to attempts to hold Pride events with mass arrests and the use of force, further restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to peaceful assembly and expression. Scores of members of the ruling party, as well as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have scolded, dismissed the existence of, and dehumanized members of the community for years, describing them as a “virus” and “poison.”

The pervasive narrative of hate and discrimination targeting LGBTQ+ community members and those who support them was a talking point of Turkey's most recent general elections, held in May 2023. Erdoğan went as far as to accuse the opposition of being LGBTQ+.

In its most recent Rainbow Europe Map and Index, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) ranked Turkey 47th of 49 countries, indicative of its overall dismal environment for LGBTQ+ people.

A broader frame of repression

These recent events are not isolated incidents. The country has witnessed a consistent crackdown on political opposition, civil society, and independent media. Laws like the controversial cybersecurity legislation are widely seen as additional tools for censorship, while the targeting of journalists has become a pervasive issue.

Ongoing legal battles against figures like İmamoğlu, along with the systematic suppression of protests, reflect a government increasingly intolerant of dissent and critical voices in its push for total capture of the political landscape.