İstanbul prosecutors have filed a new indictment against two senior executives of the country’s leading business group after they criticized government policies in a speech earlier this year, Turkish Minute reported.
The indictment drafted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office targets Orhan Turan, chairman of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) and Ömer Arif Aras, head of the group’s high advisory council. The two are accused of “repeatedly attempting to influence the judiciary,” according to the indictment accepted by the İstanbul 28th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The new indictment seeks the imposition of a fine for each defendant under Turkey’s criminal code. It has been merged with an earlier case in which the two men were charged with “publicly spreading misleading information,” a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
The charges stem from speeches Turan and Aras delivered during a TÜSİAD meeting in February, where they criticized the erosion of judicial independence and expressed concerns about arbitrary detentions, political interference in court decisions and broader threats to the rule of law in Turkey.
At TÜSİAD’s monthly general assembly on February 13, the group broke its long silence about what many call democratic backsliding in the country and the erosion of the rule of law, in a move that attracted the government’s anger and led to the brief detention of the two businessmen.
Turan and Aras talked about mounting economic and political risks in the country and pointed to growing government intervention in the private sector, executive control over the judiciary and worsening economic hardship.
They said judicial investigations into opposition political figures create concern in society and damage democracy.
The two businessmen were taken into custody on February 20 on accusations of “attempting to influence judiciary” and “publicly spreading false information.” They were escorted by police to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, where they were questioned for hours before being released under a travel ban.
The detentions came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly lashed out at the business group for its criticism of the rule of law and economic management in the country.
The detentions drew sharp criticism from legal experts and opposition politicians, who said the move aimed to intimidate civil society.
TÜSİAD, long seen as a moderate voice of the business elite, had previously avoided direct confrontation with President Erdoğan’s government. But the February 13 remarks marked a rare departure.
Meanwhile, the new indictment against the TÜSİAD executives came shortly after Nihat Zeybekçi, the deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and a former economy minister, visited them at TÜSİAD headquarters in İstanbul last week and criticized their detention under police escort.
“It was not appropriate to bring the TÜSİAD chairman in for questioning under police escort,” he said, noting his past role as economy minister advocating for business leaders’ international mobility.
Turan and Aras are scheduled to appear in court on May 20.
