Returning to the scene

Photo: AA

Three and a half years after implying in a Washington Post article that it was Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in İstanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted him Ankara on June 22. 

Offered a "royal welcome," the de facto leader of the kingdom did not bother abiding by the ceremony rules, not bowing to the flags unlike Erdoğan and saluting the presidential guard regiment by saying "Salamu alaykum" rather than "Merhaba asker," Turkish for "Hello soldier."

This "diplomatic impoliteness" continued after the meeting, with the Saudi media circulating a photo of MBS and Erdoğan showing the president looking at the ground while the crown prince is grinning.

Photos showing Erdoğan seeing bin Salman off on his plane at Ankara's Esenboğa Airport were also only released by the Saudi media, while Turkey's state media chose not to report on it.

Critics pointed out that Erdoğan, during his visit to the kingdom in late April, was accompanied only by a deputy governor at the airport in Jeddah.

"Tayyip Erdoğan said goodbye to Crown Prince Salman, whom he hugged in a way that he doesn't even hug his son, at the Esenboğa Airport," MP Özgür Özel of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) wrote on Twitter.

"The question is: Why didn't you share these photos that the Saudi agency shared, Erdoğan? You can't hide the fact that you are involved in an inconvenient and unexplainable business that would draw reactions."

In another tweet, he said, "You used to say, 'We can't look at our children in the face if we don't hold the killers of Khashoggi accountable.' Thanks to you, this one, like every murderer, returns to the scene."

Erdoğan's April visit came weeks after Turkey agreed to transfer the Khashoggi case to Saudi Arabia. It was revealed after MBS's return visit that the court had formally dropped the case on June 17. 

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Khashoggi, protested the crown prince's visit. "His visit to our country doesn't change the fact that he is responsible for a murder," she wrote on Twitter. "The political legitimacy he earns through the visits he makes to a different country every day doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer.

"I first invite everyone to think about the international order that left me alone in my fight for justice and forced me to release a statement on state leaders and about the twisted justice system."

and remind the people who have forgotten about them, despite the so-called "international order”.
We have to continue to seek justice until every effort is futile. Ultimately, as an individual who puts her faith in eternal justice, I believe no crime goes unpunished. pic.twitter.com/frNVxrLAwM

— Hatice Cengiz / خديجة (@mercan_resifi) June 22, 2022

Read more:

• 'Erdoğan bows before Saudis who dismembered a person in our country' 

• Administrative court rejects appeal against transfer of Khashoggi case to Saudi Arabia 

• Justice minister says he had no option but to pass the case to Saudi Arabia 

• 'Path to impunity and injustice for Khashoggi murder must not be taken'

Many observers agree that mitigating the economic crisis ahead of next year's elections is one reason behind the government's recent efforts to mend ties with the Gulf countries, Egypt and Israel.

This was successful to some extent in the case of Saudi Arabia, as the Saudi commerce minister told business leaders in Ankara that the kingdom lifted its informal embargo on imports from Turkey.

Also, Turkey's pro-government media reported that Salman and Erdoğan had agreed on a SWAP deal to bolster the foreign exchange reserves of Turkey's Central Bank. the kingdom's contribution will be as much as 50 billion dollars, according to the reports. Yet, official statements from both sides made no mention of signing any agreement.

Salman and President Abdel Fattah Sisi of Egypt last week put pen to paper on 14 investment agreements worth 14.4 billion dollars in Cairo, where the crown prince began his regional tour, journalist Murat Yetkin noted.

"There are concrete agreements with Egypt and promises to Turkey," he wrote on his personal website.

"Do you think MBS, who is likely to rule Saudi Kingdom for many more years given his young age (36), would pour money for the re-election of the Erdoğan administration, which proved himself to be the instigator of a murder in the eyes of the US?"

Every LGBTI+ event gets banned in Pride Month Since the start of the month, the authorities have banned all events organized by LGBTI+ groups in various parts of the country. Defying the bans in İstanbul, LGBTI+s yesterday attempted to hold the Pride Parade in İstanbul's Beyoğlu. Having blocked almost all streets in the Cihangir quarter before the event, police brutally responded to the demonstrators and detained 373 of them. Thirty of the detainees were younger than 18 and three of them were revealed to be tourists from the Netherlands. The detained demonstrators were kept in police buses for hours without food and water, lawyers said on Twitter. Police officers frequently harassed journalists and prevented them from filming the incidents. AFP photojournalist Bülent Kılıç was detained as well. All the detained were released early today. Photo by Kaos GL shows activists holding a banner that reads "We're gonna flash our asses if you don't let us march." 

Human rights

Prisoners on hunger strike for over six months demanding a fair trial Gökhan Yıldırım and Sibel Balaç have been on a hunger strike for 185 and 191 days, respectively. The Court of Cassation two weeks ago upheld the 46.5-year prison sentence of Yıldırım 

Academic's acquittal in Spice Bazaar bombing case overturned for fifth time Pınar Selek, who has been living abroad for many years, said in a statement she sent to the BBC Turkish service that the verdict was not only irrational but also inhumane. She said there were many expert reports concluding that the explosion occurred because of a gas leak. 

Musa Anter case: Next hearing scheduled for 15 days before statute of limitations expires The case concerning the 1992 assassination of the Kurdish author is set to drop in October  

From chemotherapy to courtroom Murat Karapınar was put in Silivri Prison on the charge of "being a member of an illegal organization" while receiving chemotherapy. The evidence against him includes other cases that he is currently being tried for. 

Families of people found in mass graves apply to ECtHR After the Constitutional Court rejected their applications, the families filed an application with the European Court, alleign that their right to mourn was violated. 

Court acquits police officer who killed waste worker in Diyarbakır Recep Hantaş, 20, was shot dead in April 2019, while he was collecting waste in the predominantly Kurdish-populated southeastern province of Diyarbakır. 

Wildfires destroy over 4,000 hectares in sea resort of Marmaris The forest fires that broke out on June 21 were contained four days later. Efforts to cool down the Turkish pine forests continue. A local was arrested for allegely causing the fire. The opposition criticized the authorities over the lack of aerial response, saying that lessons not learned from last year's massive wildfires in the region. (Photo: AA)

Women

Pınar Gültekin feminicide case: Defendant's sentence reduced due to 'unjust provocation' The man who killed and burned Pınar Gültekin was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court then reduced the sentence to 14 and a half years in prison. 

Freedom of expression

Protests against "disinformation bill," arrest of Kurdish journalists Journalism groups in İstanbul on June 21 gathered in Beyoğlu to protest a new bill that introduces prison sentences of up to three years for "spreading disinformation," which passed the parliament's Justice Committee two weeks ago. Speaking at the gathering, representatives of journalism groups said the bill will lead to arbitrary punishment of journalists and everyone else who express their opinion on social media. Another demonstration was held at the same location on Wednesday to denounce the recent arrest of 16 Kurdish journalists on "terrorist propaganda" charges. Reading out a statement in the name of the group, a journalist remarked, "The ruling power, which is trying to reinforce its power through elections and warmongering, aims to intimidate the media that it cannot control." 

African restaurant harassed by police over signboard colors The Saab restaurant, which is owned by two people from Somalia and serves African and Arabic cuisine, has been harassed by the police for months. After the police forced the restaurant owners to bring down the signboard in May, rights defenders made a new signboard for the restaurant. This time, the police wanted it to be painted white as its colors "resemble the PKK." The signboard included many colors, including green, red and yellow, which are both used by Kurdish groups throughout the region, and the colors of the Union of African States. ""Is it forbidden to hang a signboard? Is it a crime to work legally in Turkey? This is my identity. I cannot work here as a citizen. I have three children. God gave me my color, I can't wash it, I can't erase it," said a co-owner of the restaurant, who also holds a Turkish passport.

Migration

ECtHR fines Turkey over repatriation of refugee from Syria Turkey violated prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, right to an effective remedy, and right to liberty and security of the refugee by repatriating him under the guise of a voluntary return, the European court concluded. 

Second-class citizen: Roma refugees in Europe Cevdet Acu writes about the discrimination faced by the Roma refugees in Europe, especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine 

"Price increases are coming one after another; the anger is being directed at refugees" The head of the Association for Solidarity with Syrian Refugees talks about the declining support for refugees in Turkey compared to 10 years ago. (VK)