Is Turkey becoming a police state? - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Semih Idiz

Semih Idiz

Feb 10, 2015

Turkish riot police use their shields to protect themselves as they clash with demonstrators during a protest in central Istanbul May 31, 2014. On the first anniversary of nationwide protests that shook Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan's rule, barely a thousand anti-government demonstrators marched in Istanbul on Saturday. Outnumbered by riot police, they were soon sent scurrying into side streets by tear gas and water cannon. Their scant numbers were an illustration of Erdogan's tightening grip on power despit — Turkish riot police use their shields as they clash with demonstrators during a protest in central Istanbul, May 31, 2014. — REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Riot police block a street leading to Presidential Palace of Cankaya as members of Turkish Youth Union (TGB) protest against president-elect Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara August 11, 2014. Erdogan began the process of picking his successor as prime minister on Monday, a figure he hopes will triumph in next year's general election and secure his goal of forging a powerful presidency.
REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR420KI

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Lawyers, members of Ankara's Bar Association, clap as they protest against a bill examined by parliament upon the initiative of the ruling party AKP in order to change the system of bar associations that opponents say will dent lawyers' independence and influence on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Turkish soldiers use tear gas to disperse Turkish Kurdish protesters near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, in the Turkish town of Suruc in southeastern Sanliurfa province October 4, 2014. Turkish security forces broke up a pro-Kurdish demonstration in solidarity with Syrian Kurds, on the Turkish-Syrian border. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR48X5W

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In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture