Turkey Jails 32 Mayors as Teachers Sue Ministry: Inside Ankara's Two-Front War on Opposition

A Turkish teachers' union is suing the Ministry of National Education (MEB) over new rules governing the country's common written exam system, while a journalist reports that 32 mayors from opposition-held cities are currently jailed. The two developments reflect growing friction between Turkey's government and independent professional and civic groups.

The union, Eğitim-İş, filed its case with the Council of State (Danıştay), Turkey's top administrative court, challenging two regulations [1]. The first limits teachers' authority to prepare exam questions. The second requires schools to enter exam results question by question into e-Okul, the ministry's online student records system [1]. Eğitim-İş argues the changes overstep the ministry's reach and undercut teachers' professional role in preparing and grading exams, and is asking the court to suspend and annul the regulations [1].

Separately, journalist Günaydın reported that 32 mayors are currently in jail, and said police operations and the transfer of mayors to the ruling AKP specifically target opposition municipalities [2].

The legal challenges come amid a broader pattern of pressure on independent groups. A BirGün reporter, İsmail Arı, testified in an investigation launched after a complaint by former RTÜK (Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council) Chairman Ebubekir Şahin, with the prosecutor requesting his arrest on charges of "publicly spreading misleading information" [3]. Turkish authorities also arrested 15 people, including journalist Murat Ağırel, following an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office [4].

In a ruling pointing the other way, Turkey's Constitutional Court (AYM) found that the Istanbul Governor's Office violated rights by banning "anti-war" protests, stressing that the burden of proof lies with authorities, who must demonstrate that restrictions on assemblies stem from a necessary social need [5].