Main political events in Türkiye in the last week.
Main political events in Türkiye in the last week.
Türkiye faced another eventful week.
A cartoon related to the Palestinian-Israeli War published in Leman Magazine.
While an investigation was launched against the magazine’s staff for allegedly resembling the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses, the ruling party heavily criticized the magazine. In addition, groups gathered around the magazine attacked the magazine building and shouted slogans against the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and secularism. The main opposition, on the other hand, defended the magazine and characterized the demonstrations as provocation.
Meanwhile, the wave of arrests and detentions against the main opposition CHP party on allegations of “corruption” continued. On the occasion of the 100th day of the arrest of CHP’s presidential candidate and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a mass rally was organized in Saraçhane, where the Istanbul Municipality is located.
Another item on the agenda was the massive forest fire in Izmir and the damage it caused.
Debates on the cartoon incident
Last week, an investigation was launched against the staff of Leman Magazine for allegedly resembling the Prophet Muhammad and the Prophet Moses in a cartoon on the Palestinian-Israeli War.
The events took place four days after the publication of the cartoon.
Prompted by calls from conservative groups on social media, demonstrators gathered on Istiklal Street, where the magazine’s office is located. Demonstrators attacked the office of the magazine while chanting slogans against the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and secularism. “Long live Sharia” slogans were also chanted during the same demonstrations
Following the demonstrations, the government’s social media posts targeting the cartoon and the Leman Magazine in which it was published came one after another.
Yılmaz Tunç, Minister of Justice, announced that a judicial investigation was launched against the cartoon on the charge of “insulting religious values” and shared that “necessary legal steps will be taken without delay against this provocative attempt that disregards the beliefs of millions of Muslims.”
AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik said, “We condemn the disrespect shown to our Prophet by a humor magazine.” “This ugliness has nothing to do with art or freedom of opinion. Disrespect to our holy ones is a hate crime and a cursed act. We will fight against these cursed acts in the same way we fight against the disrespect of our holy ones by fascists in Europe,” he continued.
Later in the night, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared footage of the magazine staff and the cartoonist being taken into custody in handcuffs and said the following: “The graphic designer of the offending magazine, C.O., was also caught and detained. This despicable act against our beloved Prophet will receive the punishment it deserves before the law.”
As of July 7, 2025, four staff members of Leman Magazine—cartoonist Doğan Pehlivan, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu, managing editor Zafer Aknar, and company manager Ali Yavuz—remain jailed pending trial on charges of “publicly insulting religious values” and “inciting hatred and hostility among the public” related to the controversial cartoon published on June 26. Pehlivan also faces an additional charge of “insulting the president.” The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated the investigation and ordered the seizure of all copies of the issue, along with blocking access to the magazine’s website and social media accounts. Arrest warrants have been issued for two other staff members reportedly abroad. The court rejected the defense’s argument that the cartoon depicted ordinary individuals named Muhammad and Moses rather than prophets.
President Erdoğan also made a statement on the issue. Erdoğan used the following expressions: “It is a clear and despicable provocation in the guise of humor. Our police and judiciary immediately took action against this hate crime and necessary processes were initiated. They will be held accountable for this in front of the law and we will follow it.”
Leman Magazine, which was targeted by the government, also made a statement on the issue. The statement is as follows: “The most common names in the world and the most numerous in terms of population are Muhammad, Mehmet, Mamadu (all names given by Muslims to keep the name of the Prophet alive). There are currently 200 million people named Muhammad.
Here, the cartoonist wanted to draw the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel and never intended to insult religious values.
We do not accept the stain on us because there is no depiction of the Prophet. You have to have very bad intentions to interpret the cartoon in such a way.
How many Mehmets and Muhammads do you know? Turkish soldiers are Mehmetçik. They come from the hearth of the Prophet [a Turkish proverb]. We know and understand the sensitivity. We condemn those who cause misunderstandings and those who are provocative. We invite our well-intentioned brothers and sisters who protest to understand us correctly.
As a magazine with 5 Palestine Special Issues and hundreds of covers including Mavi Marmara, we state that you have no right to question our conscience and belief in a wrong and distorted way. Again, we apologize to our well-intentioned readers who we think have been exposed to provocations and hurt.
At a time when our country is going through sensitive times, we call on the Ministry of Justice and the units responsible for providing security to take action against those who are after kindling.”
Unlike the government, main opposition CHP leader Özgür Özel issued a statement defending Leman Magazine, which published the cartoon, and described the actions as provocation and lynching attempt.
Özel’s statements are as follows: “I looked at the caricature. It is easy to say, ‘Sir, I condemn those who say this to the Prophet, too.’ without looking at the caricature, looking at the blurred areas. As Özgür Özel, I say what I look at and what I see. From here, I appeal to conservatives with a conscience, to the opinion leaders, writers, illustrators and even cartoonists of the conservative community, the conservative community. Take a look. When I look, I see an angel who lost his life under bombardment in Gaza, wearing wings, with a harem and a wing on his head. He meets another angel who was killed, killed by another bomb. They meet in the sky. He says, ‘Peace be upon you, I am Muhammad.’ They say this as a picture of the Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad is in the prophet’s realm. He is not an angel. There Muhammad is a Muslim boy who was killed in Gaza, named after the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Another child, another Gazan, who took his name from another prophet he met in the sky. No matter how old the baby is when he is born and how old he is when he dies, it is a caricature depicted and explained in this way that those who are named after the prophets are dying here. “But it is easy, there is opportunity. They drew a picture of the prophet, attack Leman. That Leman is the same Leman that drew a cartoon in support of the Mavi Marmara while we were all silent. That Leman is the Leman that took a stand against trade with Israel when we were all silent (…) I am a reader who has directly witnessed Leman’s support for the Palestinian cause until today. You cannot crush the truth by stomping on Leman.”
Another statement on the cartoon issue and the attacks on Leman Magazine came from Doğu Perinçek, the leader of Vatan Party. Perinçek made the following statements on the issue in his evaluations on a television channel; “
“With the PKK’s disarmament and state integration process gaining momentum, counter forces have also mobilized. New scenarios have started to be played out on Türkiye’s fault lines. Some groups took to the streets over a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. On the anniversary of the Madımak massacre, the apparatuses of Gladio were put on stage again. As we move towards integration, as we move towards getting rid of terrorism, as we move towards a production revolution, the actors of the USA and Israel are being thrown on the stage.” Perinçek continued as follows: ”We all embrace the Prophet Muhammad. He is our great value, our prophet. He is a leader of revolution, a leader of civilization. If you respect the Prophet Muhammad but at the same time curse Atatürk, then there is no point in respecting the Prophet Muhammad. Are you an Islamist by being an extension of the British, by being an extension of the French, by opposing the War of Independence? This has nothing to do with Islamism.” Vatan Party Chairman Doğu Perinçek stated that the Prophet Muhammad and Atatürk have always been targets of the US and Israel, and that it is the same centers that incite violence. ”Where are they? When there was the Iran-Israel war, we didn’t see them, those who cursed Atatürk. They were never against Israel there. When the Koran was burned, the NATO Secretary General said this was freedom. Why didn’t those who came to Beyoğlu and cursed Atatürk go in front of NATO? Because there is no Gladio, no USA, no Israel behind them. When Gladio gives them jerry cans, they go and pour them into Madımak.” Doğu Perinçek harshly criticized the silence of the government, which reacted to the caricature incitement from the top, against the insults against Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye.
”Will the insult against Mustafa Kemal go unanswered! Would there have been a Turkish Republic without the War of Independence? Without the Republican revolution, without the national revolution led by Atatürk, in which chair would you be sitting? If you do not purge the enmity against Atatürk from this country, such troubles will always come to you. No one in Türkiye can stay in power by fighting Atatürk.”
The trustee case against the main opposition CHP, corruption operations and demonstrations in Istanbul
Another hot topic on Türkiye’s agenda has been the ongoing trustee (kayyım) case against the main opposition CHP and parallel corruption operations against municipalities.
Last week was a busy one for the main opposition CHP.
The 3rd hearing of the lawsuit regarding the annulment of the party’s 38th Ordinary General Assembly held on November 4-5, 2023 was held on Monday. The hearing started at 10:00 a.m. and ended around 11:30 a.m. at the Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance and was adjourned until September 8.
If the court rules that the congress was irregular, former CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to take the helm of the CHP. But the current administration has declared that they will not recognize this decision.
On the other hand, the government has come out in support of the allegations of irregularities.
Following the discussions on the appointment of a trustee at the head of the party, a corruption investigation was launched last week against the CHP’s Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
As part of the investigation launched by the Izmir Public Prosecutor’s Office into the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality for alleged corruption and irregularities, 120 people, including former Mayor Tunç Soyer and CHP Izmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu, were detained.
It was reported in the press that the allegation was that corruption was committed through Izmir Municipality and companies linked to the municipality.
157 people were detained. It was learned that the investigation was initiated upon a criminal complaint filed by the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change in 2023, and that AKP Ankara MP Osman Gökçek’s television broadcasts on the allegations of “zoning corruption in Izmir” in June 2024 were recorded and included in the investigation file.
It is claimed in the press that the beginning of the operation was based on the allegations made by AKP Ankara MP Osman Gökçek, son of former Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Melih Gökçek, on Beyaz TV on June 3, 2024.
CHP Deputy Chairman Burhanettin Bulut shared a post on his social media account regarding the operation against Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and said, “Former Izmir Mayor Tunç Soyer, Izmir Provincial Chairman Şenol Aslanoğlu and bureaucrats were detained in a dawn operation.
The government is using the judiciary, which it has turned into its backyard, as a stick. The aim is not to fight corruption, but to discredit the opposition, silence our municipalities and design politics in order to recover the falling votes. We will not give in to these illegalities, dirty scenarios and cheap plots.”
In parallel to these developments, CHP organized a rally titled “The Nation Claims Its Will” in Saraçhane on the occasion of the 100th day of the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and CHP’s presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu.
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel used the following expressions in his speech at the rally:
“On the 100th black day of justice and democracy, on the 104th day of the March 19 coup, on the 100th day of the imprisonment of our Ekrem President, we are at the home of the nation on this black day. You stood together in Saraçhane for seven days and seven nights. You shouted for justice in the darkness of the night, you defended your will. You stood behind your choice. You are the ones who do not bow down against fascism, coup plotters and junta. I am proud of all of you.”
Özel continued as follows; “On the evening of March 19, we gathered in this square, knowing that we will not be saved alone, that we will fight together, demanding freedom not only for Ekrem Mayor, but for all our mayors, the heads of all political parties, political prisoners. I am glad we came. I am glad we fought, I am glad we are together. Our friends may be in prison but their morale and motivation are high, they believe that we are right and we will win. Those who put them in prisons are sitting in palaces, but they are seven floors below the ground, they are afraid. They will lose. On March 19, we called what we experienced a coup. Like all coups, we said that the target of this coup was a person, a place, but the main target was the will of the nation. Every coup has a manifesto, and this one had one too. The news they served on March 19, “There is 550 billion liras of corruption, İmamoğlu is a criminal organization” is the declaration of this coup. All coup declarations were first read from TRT. It spread everywhere. However, it returned from the conscience of the nation. The nation did not believe this and repelled both the coup and the coup plotters (..) Every coup is led by a junta. This coup also has 3 prosecutors, 3 judges, 3 secret witnesses and slanderers. This coup is led by a president, the head of a junta. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was elected and authorized by the people as president in the past, is no longer the president but the head of the junta, the head of the junta. Every coup has an assignment list. This coup also had one. A trustee for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the name was clear. A trustee for the Republican People’s Party, the name was clear. This nation tore the coup and coup plans and threw them in the trash. This nation resisted this coup in the squares. While some were waiting for a coup, waiting for a trustee, you put forward the greatest resistance, the greatest struggle in the history of the Republic, we are proud of each and every one of you.” After the rally, police and citizens confronted each other at various points and 49 people were detained for allegedly insulting the President.
Forest fires in Izmir and Hatay
Another agenda item of the week was the forest fires in Izmir.
Fires broke out in Seferihisar and Doğanbey in Izmir, destroying large areas of forests and agricultural lands and damaging many houses.
The fire, which started on Sunday in a forest area between the Menderes and Seferihisar districts of Izmir, grew rapidly due to strong winds and reached residential areas; five villages and two neighborhoods were evacuated.
Another forest fire that started on the same day in Hatay quickly spread to three neighborhoods and led to the evacuation of around 1,800 people.
In both Izmir and Hatay, aerial and ground interventions continue uninterruptedly, while experts say that the uncertainty in the direction and speed of the wind makes extinguishing efforts difficult. While many houses have been rendered unusable in the fire zones, teams from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are working hard to bring the flames under control.
Many allegations, including terrorism and arson, have appeared in the press about the cause of the fires. It is known that the PKK terrorist organization has previously set forest fires in Türkiye. On the other hand, it was also claimed that the rent mafia burned the forests to build hotels and housing.
Making a new statement on the fires, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı said:
“İzmir Menderes, İzmir Seferihisar, Manisa Kula, Ahmetli and Hatay Antakya continue. Three more fires broke out during the day. Izmir Buca, Bilecik Vezirhan and Manisa Saruhan. In Hatay, the temperature rose above 33 degrees Celsius. This temperature increased even more with the fire. The wind speed exceeded 67 kilometers per hour. However, when we consider its impact, we know that it reached 100 kilometers. 8 airplanes, 12 helicopters and more than 2,700 personnel intervened here. 6 neighborhoods were taken to safe areas as a precaution. Over 1,400 of our citizens were evacuated. They have also started to return. The fire’s intensity here has been reduced, now our friends have switched to cooling. This cooling will continue in the coming days. There may be very minor flare-ups from time to time. “
The Minister continued as follows; Seferihisar and Menderes fires in Izmir are partially under control. Cooling works will continue. The fire in Buca was also completely under control.
In Manisa, Akhisar and Kula are partially under control. Cooling will continue in these fires throughout tonight. Ahmetli has also been de-energized and our friends will continue the struggle all night.
There was also a fire in Vezirhan, Bilecik. We do not expect a problem here either.
Among the ongoing fires, Buca, Izmir Menderes, Seferihisar, Manisa Akhisar, Kula and Saruhanlı are partially under control. We do not expect any problems in Hatay Antakya, Manisa Ahmetli and Bilecik Vezirhan. Tomorrow we will share the latest on these. “
Many forests, agricultural lands and settlements have been damaged by fires in Türkiye, especially during the summer months.