The imprisonment of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu points to the next level of authoritarianism in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s regime — as he was seen as one of the few possible candidates who could have beaten the Turkish president at the 2028 presidential poll.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paved the way for a new clash between Brussels and Ankara by challenging the authority of the European Court of Human Rights, after a landmark ruling against the detention of a teacher imprisoned after the 2016 coup.
European institutions should warn Erdoğan that there will be serious consequences if votes are rigged and the legitimacy of upcoming elections put in question.
Leuven’s Catholic University, one of Belgium’s best, has decided to close one of its respected but controversial chairs. And many say that is not because of an academic failure or scandal, but a result of the Turkish government’s relentless pressure.
More than two years after the failed putsch, evidence is trickling out to support what the EU initially suspected – that Erdogan knew what was going to happen and let it go ahead as a pretext to create one-man rule.
Turkish NBA basketball star, Enes Kanter, gave up joining teammates in a London match over fears of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reach into the EU.
The new blend of religious nationalism will be more anti-West and anti-EU, as Brussels has anything but leverage on Turkey. The first signs of this strong rhetoric are already visible.
As EU leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker meet president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Bulgaria, their reluctance to use their diminishing leverage with Ankara means his dismantling of Turkey’s democracy only speeds up.
The EU institutions – notably the European parliament – kick up a big fuss about jailed journalists in Turkey. But not all journalists are ‘equal’ in Brussels’ eyes.
Under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s diplomats have been turned into agents hunting supposed followers of his opponent Fethullah Gulen, and are now suspected of harassing journalists even in Belgium.
The EU is accused of standing silent over the 7.5 year jail sentence handed down to a young Turkish journalist, seemingly found guilty merely of having a messaging app on her phone.
Journalists from Turkey’s Zaman newspaper stand trial this week on fake charges that include “perception engineering” and “violating the rights of statesmen”.
Erdogan famously called the coup, which took place one year ago on 15 July, “a gift from God”.
Turkish leader Erdogan needs to look and act tough on terror to cement power at home. Former PM Davutoglu, who brokered the EU visa deal, also taken down a peg.
Davutoglu, the architect of the EU-Turkey migrant deal, has resigned in a row with president Erdogan, raising concerns over the future of the pact.
After the forced takeover of Zaman, a daily critical of Turkey’s president, its Brussels correspondent Selcuk Gultasli was told to stop writing. He asks the EU not to bargain with its values.
Almost a week after Merkel’s visit to Istanbul, Turkish police seized one of the country’s largest media groups on the eve of elections.
Turkey is heading to general elections on Sunday which many seasoned observers argue will be fateful for the future of Turkish democracy.
Only Russia ranks lower than Turkey in terms of press freedom in Europe, as Erdogan becomes ever more brazen.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘New Turkey’ is moving away from EU norms faster than the ‘old’ one.