Turkish law

Hundreds of people gathered in Istanbul on Jan. 19 to mark the death anniversary of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist who was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his office 16 years ago.

Some 22 percent of the real estate purchases by foreign nationals were conducted in order to obtain citizenship, a study has showed.

Foreign nationals, who buy a property worth at least $250,000, can apply for Turkish citizenship.

Turkey on Sept. 8 denied claims that it granted citizenship to 3,000 Afghan nationals in return for payment.

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"The claims that the U.S. made 3,000 Afghans nationals the citizens of the Republic of Turkey in return of a price are absolutely false," the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs said in a statement.

An Armenian orphanage in Istanbul's Tuzla district where the slain journalist Hrant Dink grew up will be turned into a youth camp thanks to a decision taken by the city's municipal council.

Some 7,312 foreigners have become Turkish citizens over the past three years by investing in property in the country, daily Milliyet has reported.

"Turkey started a citizenship program in 2017. In 2017-2018, any foreigner investing $1 million in Turkey can apply for citizenship. Since Sept. 18, 2018, the limit was lowered to $250,000," the daily reported on Nov. 22.

An Istanbul prosecutor is seeking jail terms for two suspects who sent death threats to the Hrant Dink Foundation, founded in the memory of the slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

A 14-day home quarantine was lifted on June 11 for Turkish expats visiting homeland, said a top official of a Turkish state agency.

"During the summer period, we will assist our citizens abroad who are on a journey to homeland," said Abdullah Eren, head of Turkey's Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), in a statement.

A suspect who sent a death threat to the Hrant Dink Foundation has been arrested, according to local media reports.

The suspect, identified only by the initials H.A., was detained on May 30.

Turkey's interior ministry on May 30 said that H.A. and an assailant who ripped off a cross outside an Armenian church in Istanbul were detained.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said on April 6 that probes have been launched into 750 people in 66 provinces, for not abiding by the measures the government has taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Investigations have been opened for 750 people in 66 provinces by chief public prosecutors' offices," Gül said.

A retired gendarmerie intelligence officer, allegedly involved in the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, has been murdered in the Black Sea province of Düzce.

Former intelligence officer Şeref Ateş was released from prison in December 2017 after being arrested as part of the case into the murder of the journalist.