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Turkey

Turkey

August 26, 2026

Ankara 12:05 pm

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Top EU court says Kavala case exposes erosion of judicial independence in Turkey

Europe's top human rights court has renewed its call for Turkey to immediately release jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying his imprisonment reflects a broader “systemic problem” over independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

Equality and Democracy Party lawmakers

Explainer

Turkey’s Kurdish peace process moves to implementation: What to know and what’s next

Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish militants has entered the implementation phase this week, with authorities setting up working groups to verify the Kurdistan Workers Party’s disarmament.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference to present the outcome of the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt - RC1365923270

Is Erdogan’s re-election a foregone conclusion?

Kurdish sources say that if the presidential election goes to a second round, Kurds would not vote for Good Party leader Meral Aksener but certainly would vote for former President Abdullah Gul if he were on the ballot.

Turkey's incumbent President Abdullah Gul and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul talk to the media as they leave a polling station after casting their votes in Ankara August 10, 2014. Turks began voting on Sunday with Tayyip Erdogan poised to become the country's first elected president, fulfilling his dream of what he calls a "new Turkey" and his opponents say will be an increasingly authoritarian nation. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - GM1EA8A1K7X01

Turkish opposition dejected as ex-president shuns presidential race

Former Turkish President Abdullah Gul will not run in the swiftly approaching elections, and no other candidate stands much of a chance against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Women attend Friday prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the courtyard of Sultanahmet mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION) - GM1E97C1OJG01

Turkish women demand safer, cleaner spaces in mosques

Observant Muslim women have won their struggle to access all public buildings in Turkey and will now take on the mosques.

TOPSHOT - Syrian onlookers gather around rescue teams clearing the rubble in the morning of April 10, 2018 at the site of an explosion of unknown origin which wrecked a multi-storey building the previous night in the war-battered country's northwestern city of Idlib.
The cause of the explosion in the jihadist-held city, which killed more than a ten people and wounded 80, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, was not immediately clear. / AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KAD

Assad's forces expected to move on to Idlib

The Syrian regime appears ready to target militants in Idlib, but the area is also filled with civilians who have fled there to escape the violence in so many other parts of the country.

A supporter holds a portrait of Selahattin Demirtas, detained leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 8, 2016, in the absence of Demirtas and other HDP lawmakers who were jailed after refusing to give testimony in a probe linked to "terrorist propaganda". REUTERS/Umit Bektas - D1BEULQHGVAA

Turkey's top Kurdish politician to run for president from behind bars

Turkish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party is nominating its jailed former leader Selahattin Demirtas as its candidate in the upcoming snap elections.

Ankara backtracks on freedom to commemorate Armenian murders

The 2018 commemoration of the Armenian massacres was memorable for the ban on using the word "genocide" and a big drop in attendance.

Afghan refugees walk through a beach where they will wait to board a dinghy sailing off for the Greek island of Chios, while they try to travel from the western Turkish coastal town of Cesme, in Izmir province, Turkey, March 6, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - GF10000335606

Afghans fleeing violence unwelcome in Turkey

Human rights groups warn that thousands of Afghan refugees in Turkey face abuse and deportation as the country focuses on the millions of Syrian asylum-seekers ahead of this summer's vote.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets the audience by making the four-fingers Rabia sign during the AK Party's parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara, on April 24, 2018. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s snap elections set to escalate tensions with Europe

Questions about the fairness of the June 24 elections and bans prohibiting Turkish politicians from campaigning in parts of Europe signal new strains ahead in Turkey’s relations with the West.

Can 'de-dollarization' break Iran’s economic isolation?

While there are many risks involved with currency swaps, such endeavors do present an opportunity for Iran to enhance the stability of its economy.

Turkey backs new opposition governance to mend Afrin

A local council in Afrin, Syria, is being formed to help restore the city's services and improve people's quality of life.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), arrives at a nomads congress near the southern town of Silifke in Mersin province, Turkey April 22, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC19A5868000

Erdogan breathes new life into Turkey's opposition

An Erdogan victory is looking less inevitable with a move by the Republican People's Party that will allow the right-wing Good Party to contest elections in June and perhaps draw former President Abdullah Gul into the running to once again lead Turkey.

Disgruntled Kurds emerge as potential kingmakers in Turkey’s polls

Kurdish frustration with Ankara’s shift from a policy that favored settlement with the Kurds to hard-line nationalism could sway the outcome of critical snap polls in June.