Erdogan freezes assets of Istanbul Sehir University

Asmaa El-Batakoushy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan always prosecutes his political rivals. The Turkish opposition daily newspaper, Zaman, reported that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) had frozen the assets of Istanbul Sehir University, which was founded by former prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

In October, Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank froze the university’s assets. A pro-AKP newspaper launched a campaign against the university head of trustees’ board after he criticized the government for treating his university unfairly.

Ahmet Davutoglu described what happened to the university as a “personal” political attack.

Ahmet Davutoglu, who is very popular in Turkey, poses a real threat to Erdogan.
Researcher Karam Saeed, an expert on Turkish affairs at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said Davutoglu is Erdogan’s strongest foe.

“Davutoglu plans to found a new opposition party, which will be a blow to Erdogan,” Saeed told THE REFERENCE.

“Turkey is undergoing through hard times negatively impacting citizens who are seeking political options,” Saeed argued, citing the recent municipal elections, in which AKP lost.