istanbul prosecutor probes top business figure over critical remarks

Istanbul's public prosecutor has opened an investigation into a senior figure within Turkey's main business association, a day after he criticised the justice system, the state-run Anadolu news agency said Friday.

Anadolu said the probe targeting Omer Aras, a senior figure within the influential TUSIAD association of industry and business, was launched on suspicion of "seeking to influence" the justice system and "publicly spreading false information".

It came the day after Aras gave a speech criticising the removal of around a dozen elected opposition mayors and a recent wave of arrests involving politicians, journalists and artists.

He also criticised the legal probes targeting Istanbul's powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biggest political challenger.

"These incidents, which came one after another in a very short time, created anxiety in society and shook trust," he told TUSIAD's annual general meeting.

As well as serving as chairman of TUSIAD's higher advisory council, Aras is also executive chairman of the Turkey branch of top Qatari bank QNB.

His remarks were quickly picked up on by the government.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc denounced "attempts to interfere with the justice system" and promised "the strongest possible response" in a posting on X that did not name Aras.