“Turkey’s biggest problem right now is that there is no real meritocracy. There is no due process. There is no rule of law.”

“For many people in the region, Erdogan represents a pious Muslim populist leader who defies a secularist, pro-Western establishment in Turkey and who defends Muslims on the international stage. This image earns him a lot of street cred.”

“Because it was such a new app, and I guess the government censors were not yet on the app, it was this sort of free space where the students and faculty could talk to thousands of people who downloaded the app… All of that died down.”

“Given that Erdogan himself has suffered from anti-democratic party closures throughout his political career, it may still prove too politically costly for him to pursue the closure of the HDP.”

“The government is doing to [opposition lawmaker Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu] what it has done to all prominent human rights defenders in Turkey: Using a politicized judiciary to brand him as a terrorist.”

“For a true reset to happen, the Biden administration needs to see more of a democratization process … that can come in the form of major judicial reforms or by the release of some of the most contentious political figures.”

“The broader crackdown on the HDP should be a focus of the Biden administration, which seems…to really understand how Erdogan’s authoritarianism at home impacts other things, like his foreign policy.”

“[The Biden administration] seems to very much see Erdogan’s domestic repression and growing foreign policy divergences with NATO and the U.S. as interlinked… [T]hey are going to be keeping a very close eye on what happens to Kaftancioglu.”

“Many dismissed the seriousness of his proposal altogether as an attempt by Erdoğan to change the agenda and distract people from political winds shifting against him.”

“What the case is actually arguing, why they’re trying to convict both [Osman] Kavala and [Henri] Barkey, says a lot to us about how Erdoğan sees the United States and more broadly the West’s role when it comes to Turkey.”