With the start of the corruption probe on Dec. 17, Turks came to realize that various security and judicial offices in the state had been busy amassing explosive dossiers to corner the government. Promising trouble for Turkey at home and abroad, some of the dossiers pertain to Syria. Depending on developments, they may also be deployed on the chessboard in the coming days.
Turkey’s judicial system, managing to somehow muddle along, short-circuited as the government embarked on a series of interventions, removing investigators from the probe and amending procedural rules to thwart the investigation. To speak of the separation of powers in Turkey has become a luxury, with prosecutors and police getting burned if they touch the government.