Süleyman Soylu

During the trial involving Ayhan Bora Kaplan's group, former minister Soylu was named repeatedly by complainants and witnesses, while photographs of Kaplan with Soylu were discussed in court. The episode fuelled debate over alleged links between criminal networks, the police, the judiciary and political figures.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Ahead of the May 2023 elections, Soylu stated that the vote constituted a "political coup attempt" by the West following the failure of the 2016 military coup. The opposition denounced what it saw as a pre-emptive challenge to the vote's legitimacy, and a complaint was announced.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following the İstiklal bombing in Istanbul in November 2022, Soylu stated that Turkey did not accept condolences from the US embassy, indirectly accusing Washington of hypocrisy because of its support for Syrian Kurdish forces.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

In 2021, fugitive crime boss Sedat Peker accused Soylu of protecting or helping him and maintaining links with criminal networks. The videos triggered a major political crisis and calls for an investigation.

Attribution

Directly implicated

During protests at Boğaziçi University, Soylu described certain protesters as "LGBT deviants". Twitter restricted the post under its hateful conduct policy, and the episode drew international criticism.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following the Turkish military operation in Gara, northern Iraq, 13 Turkish hostages held by the PKK were found dead. The opposition demanded answers about the operation's preparation; Soylu participated in the government's public defence of its actions.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

In February 2021, Soylu stated that the United States was behind the attempted coup of 15 July 2016, prompting an official US response rejecting the allegation.

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Personally implicated

Soylu publicly claimed that a politician received 10,000 dollars a month from Sedat Peker, without immediately naming the person, triggering significant parliamentary controversy. He subsequently said that the person was not a sitting parliamentarian and that he had passed information to the authorities.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

In April 2020, Soylu announced his resignation following scenes of panic, queues and panic buying caused by the very late announcement of a nationwide COVID-19 curfew.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Soylu publicly told law-enforcement officers to "break the legs" of drug dealers near schools, wording he subsequently repeated and defended. It prompted criticism concerning respect for the rule of law and encouragement of police violence.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

As Interior Minister, Soylu oversaw the removal of elected HDP mayors in Diyarbakır, Van and Mardin and their replacement with appointed trustees. In the same context, he made a political threat against Ekrem İmamoğlu following his expressions of support for the dismissed mayors.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility