Although belated, the glimmer of hope and a hint of justice emerges for some Turkish trainees who were wrongfully convicted in mass trials after the 2016 coup. — Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals ordered the release of more than 66 Turkish Air Force Academy trainees, who were serving life in prison over alleged involvement in an abortive coup in 2016, overturning a verdict by a lower court in Istanbul.

Russian President Putin sealed the end of the post-Cold War order in the world by announcing a military invasion of Ukraine. The liberal ‘end of history’ proves to be a delusion and a myth. — After months of military buildup on three sides of the Ukrainian border and a flurry of Munich-like diplomatic shuttle by the war-weary Western heads of states to arrest an impending reality, President Vladimir Putin announced the much-anticipated Russian military action against Ukraine.

Turkish society remains divided over how to react to victims of two suicides. One is idolized as a martyr, the other is treated as a footnote. — Only days apart, the Turkish public was rattled by the news of two suicides involving one college student, Enes Kara (20), a promising medical student, and Bahadir Odabasi (16), son of a purged teacher who has been behind bars for years, last week. While they joined the growing assembly of…

The economic crisis in Turkey is paving way for the emergence of anti-immigrant politicians in the mold of Geert Wilders. Syrians have become victims of hate speech. — Flanked by a phone-holding assistant to capture his every move, a Turkish politician barged into a jewelry store in the western province of Izmir on Wednesday last week, interrogating the owner (a Syrian) on the spot at camera-point. After asking the owner for his identification and store license, Umit Ozdag…

An Afghan mother’s heroic death to protect her children during a blizzard represents the death of humanity and the global failure of handling the issue of refugees in a more humane way. — The residents of the Avzek village in the Ozalp district of Turkey’s eastern Van province on the border with Iran were startled by an unanticipated visit from two young Afghan boys who were seemingly lost in the wilderness in the midst of a bone-chilling blizzard as the hours progressed to…

Turkey’s rulers moved to freeze the assets of 770 citizens (living abroad) on dubious legal grounds. It reflects a practice that never fades into oblivion both in the country and the world. — On Friday, the Turkish government moved to freeze the assets of 770 citizens over alleged terror links. At least 454 of the targeted victims have affiliation with the U.S.-based Muslim cleric’s organization, which was designated by the Turkish authorities in 2016 as an outlaw outfit. The official rationale presented on…

The fast-moving corruption investigation that has encircled Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has left people wondering whether the prime minister can weather the biggest challenge to his decade-old rule. The bleak picture defies optimism and bodes ill for economic and political stability, with Erdoğan now preoccupied with political survival and seemingly…

The rapprochement with UAE and the ongoing rapport with Qatar would be too late, too little for Turkey’s looming economic crisis. — In a desperate drive, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a diplomatic charm offensive in Doha last week to deepen economic ties between Turkey and Qatar amid a teetering economy back at home. The trip came less than two weeks after the U.A.E. prince’s visit to Turkey (in late November)…

The president of Turkey’s Bar Association aligned himself with the oppressive politics of the post-coup era. None of his political patrons were able to save him from his doom. — In 2014, Metin Feyzioglu, then-President of the Union of Turkey’s Bar Associations (TBB), was catapulted to national fame when he rattled off one incriminating charge after another against then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his corrupt government “at a ceremony marking the Council of State’s 146th anniversary.” His televised tantrums…