Thousands Protest Turkish Opposition Politician’s Conviction

Supporters of the Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hold picture Turkish flags as they attend an anti-government rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 21 May 2022. (EPA)
Supporters of the Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hold picture Turkish flags as they attend an anti-government rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 21 May 2022. (EPA)
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Thousands Protest Turkish Opposition Politician’s Conviction

Supporters of the Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hold picture Turkish flags as they attend an anti-government rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 21 May 2022. (EPA)
Supporters of the Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hold picture Turkish flags as they attend an anti-government rally in Istanbul, Turkey, 21 May 2022. (EPA)

Thousands gathered for a rally in Istanbul on Saturday to protest the conviction of leading Turkish opposition politician Canan Kaftancioglu for insulting the president and the state.

Demonstrators in the central district of Maltepe chanted songs and waved the opposition and national flags.

Kaftancioglu, who was sentenced to just under five years in jail, heads Republican People's Party's (CHP) Istanbul branch and is one of the strongest voices in it.

In 2019, she played a significant role in municipal elections in the city that saw the CHP take over the mayoralty, which had been held by President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party and its Islamist predecessors for the last 25 years.

Turkey's judicial independence has been in the spotlight in recent years, notably since a crackdown on the judiciary and other state bodies after an abortive 2016 coup and a switch to an executive presidency last year.

The country's top court upheld three convictions in a ruling made public earlier this month, but reduced the prison term to four years, 11 months and 20 days.

Under Turkish law, sentences of under five years are suspended, and two legal experts told Reuters that Kaftancioglu would not be jailed.



Trump to Undergo 1st Physical Examination of his Second Term

US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025.  EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025. EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
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Trump to Undergo 1st Physical Examination of his Second Term

US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025.  EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL
US President Donald J. Trump (L) responds to a question from the news media during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 April 2025. EPA/SHAWN THEW / POOL

Donald Trump, the oldest person to assume the US presidency, is set to undergo his first physical examination of his second term on Friday.
Trump, who turns 79 in June, is known for his love of fast food but often talks about his robust physical and mental health.
"I have never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!" Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform on Monday, announcing the planned exam.
The White House did not respond to queries about the exam and what would be included, Reuters reported.
The physical could offer the first clear look at Trump's condition since his ear was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July. His campaign released a report by Ronny Jackson, Trump's former White House doctor, saying the injuries were superficial.
The White House typically determines what data will be released from a president's health exam. Trump is not compelled to release any information, and there is no template for the presidential exam. Trump released only limited information about his health during his presidential campaigns.
During the 2024 election, Trump drew sharp contrasts with his predecessor, Joe Biden, now 82, claiming he was younger and fitter.
A White House doctor said in 2018 when Trump was serving his first term that he was in overall excellent health but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.
Trump included a cognitive exam, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, as part of his physical during his first term, and his doctor later said he scored 30 out of 30.
Biden released detailed summaries of his physical exams while in office, but several books published in recent months have raised questions about his mental acuity in his final months in the White House.
The mental ability and age of both Biden and Trump were in focus during last year's election campaign, especially after Biden's disastrous performance in a debate with Trump in June, and Trump's increasingly rambling speeches at rallies.