Sharjah’s Ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi (L), with UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan at the 1981 GCC Summit. Gulf News Archives
Sharjah’s Ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi (L), with UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan at the 1981 GCC Summit. Gulf News Archives

1981 - The founding of the GCC

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Updated 19 April 2025
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1981 - The founding of the GCC

1981 - The founding of the GCC
  • The union of six Gulf states has accomplished much of what it set out to do 44 years ago

RIYADH: When, in January 1968, Britain announced its intention to leave the Gulf by 1971, it sent shock waves throughout the region. The search intensified for a new and more reliable security architecture. It took several steps, ending with the formation of the Gulf Cooperation Council on May 25, 1981. 

During the period between Britain’s announcement of 1968 and its actual withdrawal from the Gulf on Dec. 16, 1971, there was first an attempt to form a nine-member union between Bahrain and Qatar and the seven Trucial States, all of which were under various protection treaties with Britain. When that attempt failed, efforts were directed at forming a union among the Trucial States. The UAE was announced on Dec. 2, 1971, initially of six emirates, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain. Ras Al-Khaimah, the seventh emirate, joined the following February.  

After that first step, the search continued for a larger framework to include the rest of the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait championed the renewed efforts. In May 1976, he formally called for the establishment of a Gulf union during a visit to the UAE, whose president, Sheikh Zayed, strongly supported the idea. 

In November 1976, in Muscat, a security framework that would also have included Iraq and Iran was discussed but abandoned because of fundamental differences over the concept, especially between Iran and Iraq. 

Efforts to establish the GCC continued without Iran or Iraq. Saddam Hussein of Iraq tried to hinder those efforts unless Iraq was included, which was difficult to do given its war with Iran at the time. The Soviet Union and China were also opposed, for fear that the new organization would be Western-oriented. 

How we wrote it




Arab News announced the second GCC summit in Riyadh yielded “excellent results,” evidenced by a unified economic agreement.

The security vacuum was part of the rationale for advancing the founding of the GCC to close ranks among Gulf states. Besides Britain’s withdrawal, the revolution in Iran in February 1979 produced a clerical regime explicitly seeking to export its brand of radical politics to its neighbors and undermine their security. It helped in establishing, funding and training militant groups for that purpose in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, in addition to spreading its influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. 

In October 1979, in a meeting held in Taif, Saudi Arabia, the general framework of the GCC was agreed, but differences remained on some issues. Some favored focusing on security and military integration — even a formal military alliance — while others wanted the new organization to emphasize soft power and economic integration. 

In 1980, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal was given the task of bringing the different views together and leading the exercise of drafting the charter, supported by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah (who later became the Emir of Kuwait from 2006 until his death in 2020), Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak, and others. 

A flurry of meetings of ministers and experts took place in the early months of 1981, in Kuwait, Riyadh and Muscat, to finalize the draft, which was finally adopted by the heads of state on May 25, 1981, in Abu Dhabi, in the first formal meeting of the new organization. 

The GCC Charter was a compromise between the different formulations discussed for the new group. It did not privilege a particular emphasis, but called for “coordination and integration between member states in all fields, leading to their unity.” The reference to unity as a goal was important to guide the work of the organization. The reference to “all fields” gave the impetus for the formation of institutional structures dedicated to different branches of integration, including political, economic and security. 

Key Dates

  • 1

    The charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is signed by the heads of state of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

    Timeline Image May 25, 1981

  • 2

    GCC leaders sign a unified economic agreement during their second summit, in Riyadh.

  • 3

    Peninsula Shield, a joint GCC defense force, is established, with its headquarters at Hafr Al-Baatin in northeastern Saudi Arabia.

    Timeline Image Oct. 15, 1985

  • 4

    A GCC customs union is created.

  • 5

    Introduction of the GCC common market.

  • 6

    Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain withdraw their ambassadors from Doha, accusing Qatar of failing to abide by an agreement not to support “anyone threatening the security and stability of the GCC, whether as groups or individuals.”

    Timeline Image March 5, 2014

  • 7

    The GCC announces during its annual meeting the formation of a regional police force, based in Abu Dhabi.

    Timeline Image Dec. 8, 2014

  • 8

    King Salman’s vision for strengthening joint action by GCC members is announced in Riyadh during the organization’s 36th summit.

  • 9

    GCC announces activation of Unified Military Command HQ in Riyadh as a concrete step toward enhanced military coordination.

Today, the GCC Secretariat employs about 1,500 civilian staff, from the six member states, and hosts the main policymaking divisions of the organization. Its work is aided by about 30 specialized entities that deal with specific issues. There are economic organizations such as standards, patents, intellectual property and investment, as well as internal security organizations. Military organs employ additional uniformed staff. 

Since its inception in May 1981, the GCC has undoubtedly accomplished a lot of what it set out to do more than four decades ago. Economic tools, such as the free trade area, which was set up in 1983, the customs union (2003) and the common market (2008), have created great synergies between member states that have led to improved efficiencies and wide and dynamic markets. 

However, attempts at reaching a full economic union and a unified currency have yet to succeed. 

By economic and social indicators, the GCC states have been a brilliant success, in part because their membership in the GCC provided economies of scale, a deeper market and wider reach. 

In 1981, the combined gross domestic product of the six member states was just shy of $200 billion, and most GCC states were performing poorly in economic and social indicators. At that time, most GCC states had just shaken off British rule, which had lasted about 200 years, impoverished their economies, and ossified their political and social development. As a result, these states were underperforming economically and needed the solidarity and support of other GCC members. 

Today, the combined GCC GDP is about $2.4 trillion — a 12-fold increase over 1981. At the same time, per capita income has skyrocketed in some member states. And while in 1981 several GCC member states were low-ranking in most human-development indices, such as the level of education, health conditions, life expectancy and the gender gap, today GCC countries lead on those indices. Illiteracy has been fully eradicated, free health services are top notch and GCC universities sit high on international rankings. 




GCC leaders gather at the Abu Dhabi InterContinental Hotel for the inaugural summit. Gulf News Archives

Other significant achievements were also made, including the establishment of the unified military command in November 2018, building on decades of close cooperation between land, air and naval forces, including through the Peninsula Shield based in northern Saudi Arabia since 1982, and the GCC Naval Operations Coordination Center in Bahrain. 

The GCC Police was established in 2012 and has been based in the UAE since. It coordinates the work of internal security forces at the operational level, in addition to the Riyadh-based Security Affairs division. 

However, a lot remains to be done to reach the goal of “unity” cited in the charter. The emerging, and almost existential, challenges that the region faces require new ways of doing things. Business as usual is no longer adequate. 

Member states have, over the years, proposed closer cooperation to meet those challenges. In 2012, the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed transition from the “cooperation” phase to a full-fledged union. 

In 2015, King Salman proposed a comprehensive vision aimed at upgrading cooperation mechanisms in economic, social, political, internal security and defense areas. His vision was adopted by other leaders and has become the GCC’s road map since then. While work is in progress to implement the remaining elements in this vision, Saudi Arabia has announced that it intends to submit a phase two of this vision. 

One area that has been referred to in summit communiques repeatedly is the reform of GCC’s institutions, including the GCC Secretariat and the 30-odd other entities in its orbit. It has been recognized that governance needs to be overhauled to provide more transparency, accountability and efficiency. 

King Salman’s vision for the GCC, which was adopted by all leaders in December 2015, started that process but the pace of change has not been fast enough. 

  • Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the GCC assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation, and a columnist for Arab News. The views expressed in this piece are personal and do not necessarily represent GCC views.


Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1

Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1
Updated 23 min 38 sec ago
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Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1

Inter Milan scores twice in final minutes to beat Urawa in Club World Cup, 2-1

SEATTLE: Valentin Carboni scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time to give Inter Milan a 2-1 win over Urawa in the Club World Cup on Saturday, ending the Japan club's chances of advancing past the group stage.
Inter Milan held the vast majority of possession, but failed to score until the 78th minute when Lautaro Martinez brilliantly bicycle kicked Nicolo Barella’s corner ball into the net.
Carboni's game-winner came in the second minute of stoppage time and was assisted by fellow substitute Francesco Esposito.
The Urawa Red Diamonds opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Takuro Kaneko assisted Ryoma Watanabe in transition, finding Watanabe all alone on the penalty spot with his cutback ball.
Key moment
Urawa had one final chance to equalize in the last minute of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Yann Sommer tipped the long-distance attempt directly from the free kick over the crossbar.
Takeaways
Inter Milan takes over the top spot in Group E after following up their tournament-opening draw with the victory. The Italian club will play River Plate of Argentina on Wednesday.
Urawa will be playing for pride against CF Monterrey on Wednesday.


Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat

Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat
Updated 35 min 41 sec ago
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Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat

Pro-Palestinian protest leader defiant despite US deportation threat
  • Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation

NEWARK, United States: Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, pledged Saturday to keep campaigning after he was released from a federal detention center.
“Even if they would kill me, I would still speak for Palestine,” Khalil said as he was greeted by cheering supporters at Newark airport, just outside New York City.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation.
He was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.
The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.
“Just the fact I am here sends a message — the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now,” said Khalil, who is still fighting his potential expulsion from the United States.
He spoke alongside his wife Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple’s first child while Khalil was in detention, as well as Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Mahmoud Khalil was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“This is not over, and we will have to continue to support this case,” she added.
Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is not allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation” under the terms of his release.
He also faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.
President Donald Trump’s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team fears he could face threats out of detention.
“We are very mindful about his security, and the irony is that he is the one being persecuted,” Baher Azmy, one of his lawyers, told AFP.
“But he is committed to peace and because he is rejecting US government policy he is under threat,” Azmy added, without elaborating on any security measures in place for Khalil and his family.
 

 


What the latest figures reveal about the state of the world’s refugees

What the latest figures reveal about the state of the world’s refugees
Updated 19 min 26 sec ago
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What the latest figures reveal about the state of the world’s refugees

What the latest figures reveal about the state of the world’s refugees
  • The vast majority of the world’s displaced remain in poorer countries, challenging the narrative of a crisis centered on wealthy nations
  • Humanitarian agencies warn of deep funding gaps that place support for those displaced by conflict, disaster and economic collapse at risk

LONDON: There are not many people who would consider starting over at the age of 103. But for father, grandfather and great-grandfather Jassim, who has spent the past decade in exile in Lebanon with his family, the dramatic end of the Syrian civil war meant he could finally return home.

And in May, Jassim did just that.

In 2013, after their hometown in Syria’s Homs Governorate was caught in the crossfire of the country’s bitter civil war, Jassim and the surviving members of his family fled.

Not all of them would make the journey to relative safety and a makeshift tent camp near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon. During one period of intense fighting three of his children were killed when a shell fell near the family’s house.

Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon are seen at the al-Zamrani crossing on May 14, 2024. (SANA photo via AFP/File)

For Jassim, holding the memory of their loss deep in his heart, the return last month to the town of Al-Qusayr after 12 years as refugees in another country was achingly poignant.

“You raise your children to see them grow and bring life to your home,” he said, speaking through a translator for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. “Now they are gone.”

As the family discovered when they arrived back in Al-Qusayr last month, the home in which they had been raised was also gone.

“It was a bittersweet moment,” Jassim said. “I was happy to return to the place where I was born and raised but devastated to see my home reduced to rubble.”

Refugees travel with their belongings in the Syrian Arab Republic. (AFP)

Although they are back in their own country, the future for Jassim’s family remains uncertain. With luck they are on the cusp of a fresh start, but for Jassim returning to the land of his birth has a more final meaning.

“I came back to die in Syria,” he said.

UNHCR says about 550,000 Syrian refugees returned home between December and the end of May, along with a further 1.3 million displaced within the country. This is one of the brighter spots in UNHCR’s 2025 Global Trends report, published in the lead-up to World Refugee Day on June 20.

Overall, the report, which contains the latest statistics on refugees, asylum-seekers, the internally displaced and stateless people worldwide, makes for predictably gloomy reading.

Infographic from the UNHCR's Global Trends 2025 report

As of the end of 2024, it found that 123.2 million people — about one in 67 globally — were forcibly displaced “as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order.” This figure includes 5.9 million Palestinian refugees.

Of the 123.2 million, 42.7 million are refugees seeking sanctuary in a foreign country, and of these about 6.6 million are from countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Unsurprisingly, the largest number of refugees in the region under the UNHCR’s mandate in 2024 were from Syria — accounting for 5.9 million. But other numbers, although smaller, serve as a reminder of conflicts currently overshadowed by events in Syria and Gaza.

More than 300,000 Iraqi refugees were registered in 2024, along with 51,348 from Yemen, 23,736 from Egypt, 17,235 from Libya and 10,609 from Morocco.

Palestinians transport a casualty pulled from the rubble of a house targeted in an Israeli strike at the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 15, 2025. (AFP)

Amid the devastation in Gaza since October 2023, and rising settler violence in the occupied West Bank, nearly as many Palestinians have fled as refugees in 2024 — 43,712 — as have been killed in Gaza.

Globally, there is a glimmer of hope. In the second half of 2024 the rate of forced displacement slowed and, says UNHCR, “operational data and initial estimates for 2025 indicate that global forced displacement may begin to fall during 2025.”

Indeed, the agency estimates that by the end of April 2025 the total number of forcibly displaced people — a term that includes people displaced within their own country and those seeking refuge in another state — had fallen by 1 percent to 122.1 million.

But whether that trend continues depends very much on several factors, said Tarik Argaz, spokesperson for UNHCR’s regional bureau for the Middle East and North Africa in Amman, Jordan.

There are, Argaz told Arab News, undoubtedly “signs of hope in the report, particularly in the area of solutions. But during the remainder of 2025, much will depend on the dynamics in key situations.

“While we should keep hopes high, we have to be very careful in interpreting the trends in the international scene,” including “whether the situation in South Sudan does not deteriorate further, and whether conditions for return improve, in particular in Afghanistan and Syria.”

In 2024, about 9.8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide were able to return home, including 1.6 million refugees — the highest number for more than two decades — and 8.2 million internally displaced people — the second highest total yet recorded. 

However, Argaz said, “it must be acknowledged that many of these returns were under duress or in adverse conditions to countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine, which remain fragile.”

For Syrians in particular, “there is uncertainty and significant risks, especially for minority groups. Syrians in the country and those returning from abroad need support with shelter, access to basic services such as water, sanitation, employment and legal assistance, among other things,” he said.

“The economic conditions remain dire, while the security situation remains fragile in many parts of the country.”

And while Jassim and his family are pleased to be back in Syria, UNHCR is concerned that not all Syrian refugees are returning entirely of their own free will.

“UNHCR is supporting those who are choosing to return,” Argaz said. “But returns should be safe, voluntary and dignified. We continue to call on states not to forcibly return Syrians to any part of Syria and to continue allowing civilians fleeing Syria access to territory and to seek asylum.”

The Global Trends report also highlights the burden placed on host countries by refugees.

IN NUMBERS

550,000 Syrian refugees returned home between December and the end of May.

6.6 million people forcibly displaced from MENA countries as of December 2024.

Source: UNHCR

Relative to the size of its population, Lebanon was hosting the largest number of refugees of any country in the world in 2024, accounting for one in eight of the population. 

Lebanon’s already complex situation was further complicated in September 2024 when the war between Israel and Hezbollah displaced nearly a million people within the country.

By the end of April, there were still 90,000 people internally displaced in Lebanon. But between September and October last year the conflict led to an estimated 557,000 people fleeing Lebanon for Syria — of whom over 60 percent were Syrians who had originally sought sanctuary in Lebanon. 

Lebanese security forces deploy to organize the crowd as people, mostly Syrians, arrive from their country to the Masnaa border crossing on the way to Lebanon on December 9, 2024. (AFP)

The issue of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa has become a delicate matter in Europe, with right-wing parties winning votes over the issue and centrist governments taking anti-migrant stances to assuage increasingly angry voters.

“But contrary to perceptions in the global North,” Argaz said, “60 percent of forcibly displaced people stay within their own country, as internally displaced people. Of those who leave as refugees, 67 percent go to neighboring countries — low and middle-income countries host 73 percent of the world’s refugees.”

For example, at the end of 2024, almost 80 percent of the 6.1 million Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers were hosted by neighboring countries — 2.9 million in Turkiye, 755,000 in Lebanon, 611,000 in Jordan, 304,000 in Iraq and 134,000 in Egypt.

The situation in Sudan and South Sudan is particularly perilous. Sudan’s two million refugees, although scattered across dozens of countries, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, are concentrated mainly in Chad, South Sudan and Libya, with tens of thousands each in countries including Egypt, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Uganda, with sizable numbers in the UK and France.

Sudanese people who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control, rest in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in the country's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025. (AFP)

Despite offering refuge to almost half a million refugees from Sudan, 2.29 million South Sudanese are seeking sanctuary elsewhere — in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and, in a reflection of the internecine nature of the violence in the region, Sudan.

For all the world’s refugees and internally displaced, UNHCR is the lifeline on which they depend, both for support while displaced and upon returning to shattered lives and homes. But with donor nations slashing funds, this work is under threat.

“Severe cuts in global funding announced this year have caused upheaval across the humanitarian sector, putting millions of lives at risk,” Argaz said.

“We call for continuing funding of UNHCR programs that save lives, assist refugees and IDPs returning home and reinforce basic infrastructure and social services in host communities as an essential investment in regional and global security.

“In addition, more responsibility sharing from the rest of the world with the countries that host the bulk of refugees is crucial and needed.”

In December, UNHCR announced it had secured a record $1.5 billion in early funding from several countries for 2025. But, as Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said at the time, “generous as it is, humanitarian funding is not keeping pace with the growing needs.”

The funding commitment of $1.5 billion represents only 15 percent of the estimated $10.248 billion UNHCR says it will need for the whole of 2025. Of that total, the single largest proportions, $2.167 and $2.122 billion respectively, will be spent on projects in East Africa and in the Middle East and North Africa.
 

 


Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe

People attend a pro-Palestinians demonstration in Berlin, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP)
People attend a pro-Palestinians demonstration in Berlin, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP)
Updated 22 June 2025
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Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe

People attend a pro-Palestinians demonstration in Berlin, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP)
  • Saturday’s marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel’s strikes against Iran

LONDON: Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in European cities Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation.
In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves.
In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the center of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures.
And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organizers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire.
There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza.
This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including “Stop arming Israel” and “No war on Iran” as they marched in the sweltering heat.
“It’s important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,” said 34-year-old Harry Baker.
“I don’t have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation.” This was his third pro-Palestinian protest, he added.

Saturday’s marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel’s strikes against Iran.
Tehran said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.
Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures.
One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was “scared.”
“I’m worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it’s still my country. I’m scared,” she said.
Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade.
Gaza’s civil defense agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites.
“People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That’s where the genocide is happening,” said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus.

In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting “Germany finances, Israel bombs.”
“You can’t sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,” said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name.
For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the “genocide currently taking place” and the “dirty work” being done by the German government.
In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
The rally there was called by organizations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation.
Slogans included “Stop the occupation,” “Stop the starvation, stop the violence,” and “Right to self-determination.”
Some marchers chanted: “We are all the children of Gaza.”
The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.
Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.

 


Turkiye detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan

Turkiye detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan
Updated 21 June 2025
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Turkiye detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan

Turkiye detains prominent journalist for allegedly threatening Erdogan
  • Altayli posted a video on Friday referencing an unnamed poll showing 70 percent of Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life
  • Istanbul prosecutor’s office said the comments from Altayli “contained threats” against Erdogan

ANKARA: Turkish authorities detained prominent independent journalist Fatih Altayli on Saturday over social media comments allegedly threatening President Tayyip Erdogan, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said.

Altayli, who has more than 1.51 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, posted a video on Friday referencing an unnamed poll showing 70 percent of Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life, saying this would “never be allowed” by the Turkish people.

Altayli also referenced past Ottoman rulers in his comments, saying people had “drowned,” “killed,” or “assassinated them in the past.” His comments drew backlash from an Erdogan aide, Oktay Saral, who said on X that Altayli’s “water was boiling.”

In a statement, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said the comments from Altayli “contained threats” against Erdogan, and said an investigation has been launched against him. Legal representation for Altayli could not immediately be reached for comment.

Altayli’s detention comes amid a series of detentions of opposition figures in recent months, including the arrest in March of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who is Erdogan’s main political rival.

The main opposition CHP says the detentions and arrests of its members, along with other opposition members and journalists or media personalities, is a politicized move by the government to muzzle dissent and eliminate electoral challenges to Erdogan.

The government denies these claims, saying the judiciary and Turkiye’s courts are independent.

Turkish authorities have in the past carried out widespread detentions and arrests against opposition politicians, namely pro-Kurdish local authorities. More than 150 people jailed so far over what Erdogan’s government says is a ring of corruption that the CHP denies.