Turkish Press Review

The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.



Monday's dailies mainly covered a high-level controversy over a disputed Istanbul court ruling, the run-off presidential election in Northern Cyprus plus the devastating earthquake in Nepal.



"Controversy over release," was MILLIYET's headline in reporting an Istanbul court's ruling to release Samanyolu Media Group chairman Hidayet Karaca and 75 others, including some police chiefs, in the case.



Karaca was in jail awaiting trial on charges of "managing a terrorist organization." Other detainees face charges of wiretapping, forgery and privacy violation.



On Saturday, the Istanbul 32nd Penal Court of First Instance's judge Mustafa Baser ruled that the suspects should be released. Following the decision, Istanbul's 10th Penal Court declared the decision null and void.



After that, a prosecutor office refused to sign the release order.



Some dailies sharply criticized the first court's ruling and claimed it was tantamount to a coup.



STAR reported that the "parallel structure" had attempted a coup on Saturday, drawing comparisons to the 17 Dec. corruption probe from 2013.



SABAH reported Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu labeling the court's ruling as a coup. "They (parallel structure) attempted a coup in this jurisdiction," Davutoglu said, according to the daily.



Some other newspapers claimed that the prosecutor's office which refused to sign the release order had committed a crime. ZAMAN claimed this was "a constitutional crime."



The "parallel state" is a purported group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and the police, which allegedly want to undermine the current Turkish government.



In other news, the run-off presidential election took place in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Sunday. Independent candidate Mustafa Akinci won the election.



"Northern Cyprus' choice was Akinci," run MILLIYET's front page, reporting that Akinci supports a "united Cyprus." "A new era will begin," Akinci said during his victory speech on Sunday night, according to the daily.



Akinci took 60.38 percent of the vote, followed by incumbent President Dervis Eroglu with 39.62 percent.



The daily said Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades is looking forward to meeting with Akinci.



The Greek Cypriot administration suspended negotiations over the divided island's future on Oct. 7, 2014 after Turkey sent a ship to monitor an oil-and-gas exploration mission off the coast of Cyprus.



Turkish dailies also covered the devastating earthquake in Nepal. YENI SAFAK and AKSAM reported the eventual death toll could exceed 10,000. MILLIYET reported that aftershocks have rocked the Southeast Asian country.



Saturday's magnitude-7.8 quake destroyed buildings, ripped up roads and set off avalanches in the Himalayas.



The death toll in Nepal following the devastating earthquake has climbed above 3,200. At least 6,535 people were also injured in the quake and its aftermath.



In sports news, Turkish dailies covered Galatasaray's victory over Gaziantepspor on Sunday.



SABAH and HABERTURK reported Galatasaray have become leaders of the Turkish Spor Toto Super League after beating a battling Gaziantepspor team 1-0 in front of its fans on Sunday evening.



In economic news, financial paper DUNYA warned the U.S. dollar's appreciation and the Fed's possible decision to increase interest rates could result in many companies' bankruptcy.



The Turkish lira dropped to its lowest rate – 2.7420 – against the U.S. dollar on Friday.



The fall came after Turkey's Central Bank announced that a key interest rate would remain unchanged at 7.5 percent, despite expectations the rate would be raised to address the lira's fall against the dollar.



www.aa.com.tr/en - İstanbul