Numan Kurtulmuş

Under Kurtulmuş's speakership, Parliament formally recorded the loss of imprisoned MP Can Atalay's mandate after a judicial decision was read aloud, at a time when the Constitutional Court had issued rulings favouring Atalay's rights. The episode crystallised a crisis between senior courts and accusations of violating the Constitution.

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Institutional responsibility

During a speech in Şırnak, Kurtulmuş referred positively to the historical alliance between Yavuz Sultan Selim and İdris-i Bitlisi. Alevi organisations denounced the reference because of the memory of massacres and persecution associated with Selim's reign and called for his resignation.

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Personally implicated

Kurtulmuş stated that he preferred to express indivisibility as that of "the nation with its state and territory" rather than "the state with its territory and nation". His remarks were interpreted as an intention to amend Article 3, one of the protected constitutional provisions, prompting strong political reactions.

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Personally implicated

A photograph showing Kurtulmuş smiling with officials in a tent area in Adıyaman after the February 2023 earthquakes prompted strong criticism on social media and from the opposition, with the image considered inappropriate amid a deadly disaster.

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Directly implicated

Kurtulmuş stated that signing the Istanbul Convention had been a mistake and that Turkey could withdraw from it, criticising in particular concepts of sexual orientation and gender that he associated with normalisation of LGBT identities. His remarks were central to the debate preceding Turkey's withdrawal from the Convention.

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Personally implicated

During the crisis caused by the banning or cancellation of rallies by Turkish ministers in Germany and the Netherlands ahead of the constitutional referendum, Kurtulmuş described Europe's attitude as undemocratic and contributed to escalating rhetoric with several EU partners.

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Personally implicated

After Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman declared that a new constitution should not mention secularism, Kurtulmuş explained that debate on such issues was natural and criticised the transformation of secularism into "secularist ideology". His comments fuelled the controversy before he clarified that removing secularism was not on the government's agenda.

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Personally implicated

Kurtulmuş triggered controversy by using wording suggesting that judicial power was "linked" to the President of the Republic, a statement interpreted as challenging judicial independence.

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Personally implicated

Following the attempted coup and declaration of a state of emergency, Kurtulmuş announced that Turkey would temporarily derogate from certain obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, prompting serious concerns over civil liberties during purges and arrests.

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Attribution

Political responsibility