Bank Asya, which had seen its shares jump by over 44 percent after Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) said on Tuesday it had entered into exclusive discussions to acquire a stake in the Turkish lender, saw trading of its shares resume after a halt due to unusual price-quantity movement on Friday morning.
Trading of Bank Asya shares was on a halt on Friday until 9:51 a.m. but resumed hours later. Shares saw an 8.13 percent rise and passed the 66.4 percent mark in the last four days. Shares are being traded at TL 1.73 as of early Friday afternoon.
The Islamic bank has been in the spotlight since Turkish media reported that state-owned companies and institutional depositors loyal to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had withdrawn TL 4 billion ($1.8 billion), or some 20 percent of the bank’s total deposits, because the bank’s founders include sympathizers of cleric Fethullah Gülen, a former-ally-turned-critic of Erdoğan.
Bank Asya said it had weathered the mass withdrawals and was not at risk. The government has declined to comment. Media speculated the withdrawals were part of an orchestrated backlash against a government corruption investigation, blamed on Gülen, and which poses one of the biggest challenges to Erdoğan’s 11-year rule.
Child of purged victim in Turkey says: I was 14 months old when my dad jailed
The child of a man who was arrested as part of a Turkish government crackdown on dissent following a failed coup last July said in a message on a piece of paper that “I was 14 months old when my father left.”
Islamic scholar Gülen calls for calm among supporters
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called on his supporters to remain calm and be patient in the wake of rumors that Istanbul police were planning to start an operation to round up hundreds of people close to his movement. Gülen called for patience and calm among the relatives of those who are being probed or expecting probes against them, advising them to pray and read the Quran.
Pulitzer Prize equals five years in prison in Turkey
The statement in the headline belongs to Bülent Arınç, deputy prime minister and spokesperson for the Turkish government. Moreover, he is responsible for the government’s media policy. For Western readers, I should clarify that he was not joking when he said, “A journalist might win the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting, but he should face the consequence of five years in prison.”
66 U.S. senators sign letter asking Turkey to release Pastor Andrew Brunson
The letter, signed by 43 Republicans and 23 Democrats, warned that the U.S. may decide to take unspecified measures” to ensure that Turkish government “respects the rights” of U.S. citizens to remain in Turkey without fear of being persecuted.
Turkey, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ and ‘Titanic’
Questions to challenge the primary and unjustified premise: What judicial (or other) process determined that these corruption investigations were a coup attempt against the government? What proof or evidence do you have to support this most serious claim? What disciplinary process did you undertake to determine that the people that were purged were members and culprits of this ‘coup’? In the absence of evidence and disciplinary process how did you determine these people’s association with Hizmet? When is government corruption not a judicial coup? How can you have the right to unilaterally determine the intent and purpose of these ongoing judicial investigations when your government is implicated in them? If your government can purge over 7,000 police officers (and thereby affect and prevent these investigations) without evidence, due process or disciplinary procedure, do you not set a precedent for every future potentially corrupt government to follow?
Arrest of Kanter’s father underscores deepening tensions between U.S., Turkey
Turkey’s ability to stop Kanter from living in the U.S. or playing in the NBA is basically non-existent. The U.S. won’t allow Turkey to extradite him. But Erdoğan’s government has an ulterior motive in attempting to intimidate Kanter. “The point of this exercise is to let Turks around the world know that none of them are safe, that they should not speak out against the government,” Joshua Landis said.
Latest News
Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison
Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney
Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement
ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment
New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement
European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests
ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases
Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade
Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet
In Case You Missed It
Being partners of the state
First International Science Projects Olympiads of Indonesia organized by the Turkish schools
Post-coup purge victim says he may never be a father due to torture in prison
Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge and Erdogan’s Private Army
Self-criticism by the Hizmet movement
Turkish Imam: Enjoy the properties of Gulen Movement as ‘spoils’
The next phase in Turkey’s political violence – third and coming coup could be the most violent