The unfolding guardianship scandal at Istanbul’s Anatolian Courthouse has escalated into one of Turkey’s most significant judicial crises in recent memory, exposing fundamental flaws in the legal protections for vulnerable citizens while raising alarming questions about judicial integrity. What began as isolated reports of questionable guardianship appointments has, through the dogged investigative work of journalist Seyhan Avşar, revealed a disturbing pattern of systemic exploitation that appears to have operated with impunity for years.
The Anatomy of a Scandal
At the heart of the controversy lies a network of judges and lawyers allegedly colluding to exploit Turkey’s guardianship system. The process, designed to protect elderly and incapacitated individuals without family support, appears to have been systematically manipulated for financial gain. Court records and insider accounts suggest that a select group of young lawyers received preferential treatment in guardianship appointments, often being assigned to manage the affairs of wealthy elderly wards.
The case of 88-year-old business magnate İnan Kıraç has become emblematic of the scandal. In a series of controversial decisions, the Anatolian 2nd Civil Court of Peace removed Kıraç’s existing legal representatives and appointed two relatively inexperienced lawyers – A.Y. and M.Ö. – as his guardians with salary of 1,6 million Turkish liras per month for each (15 times the salary of a judge). These new guardians promptly installed Eşref K., a little-known attorney from the provincial Çorum Bar Association, as Kıraç’s legal representative. Most shockingly, the court approved an advance payment of 128 million Turkish lira (approximately $3 million) in legal fees to Kaya before he had undertaken any substantive work on the case.
A Pattern of Abuse
Avşar’s investigation uncovered that this was far from an isolated incident. Court records show that the same small group of lawyers received a disproportionate number of guardianship appointments, often for elderly individuals with substantial assets. In many cases, these guardians allegedly sold or leased properties at suspiciously low prices while collecting exorbitant fees for their services.
Perhaps most disturbingly, the scandal reveals how the justice system failed to respond to early warnings. In 2023, a female judge at the Anatolian 13th Civil Court of Peace began raising concerns about irregularities in guardianship appointments. She revoked several questionable guardianships, only to see her decisions consistently overturned by higher courts. Shortly after her interventions, she was transferred to another jurisdiction – a move widely interpreted within legal circles as retaliation for challenging the status quo.
Institutional Failures
The scandal has exposed multiple layers of systemic failure within Turkey’s judicial framework. The guardianship system, designed as a protective measure, appears to have operated with minimal oversight and accountability. Court-appointed guardians wielded extraordinary power over their wards’ assets with little meaningful supervision, while the random case assignment system meant to prevent favouritism was allegedly bypassed with disturbing regularity.
Sources within the courthouse describe an environment where certain judges developed concerningly close relationships with particular lawyers. “It became an open secret that if you wanted a guardianship case, you needed to know the right people,” one court clerk, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed. “The same names kept appearing, case after case.”
Political and Public Backlash
The revelations have triggered a firestorm of criticism from across Turkey’s political spectrum. Opposition lawmakers Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Gökçe Gökçen have submitted detailed parliamentary inquiries demanding answers about the guardianship appointment process, fee structures, and asset management oversight.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has ordered the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) to conduct a comprehensive review of all guardianship cases at the Anatolian Courthouse. However, critics argue this response fails to address the nationwide implications of the scandal, calling for a complete overhaul of Turkey’s guardianship laws.
Public outrage has been palpable, with the hashtag #GuardianshipScandal trending across Turkish social media platforms. Many citizens have come forward with personal accounts of elderly relatives whose assets were allegedly mismanaged under similar arrangements. “My uncle’s entire property portfolio disappeared within six months of being placed under guardianship,” recounted one Istanbul resident. “When we questioned it, we were told everything was perfectly legal.”
The Human Cost
Beyond the financial implications, the scandal has highlighted the profound human toll of systemic guardianship abuse. Numerous families report being completely cut off from elderly relatives placed under questionable guardianships. In some cases, wards were moved to care facilities without family consultation, while their assets were liquidated.
Legal advocacy groups estimate hundreds of elderly Turks may have been affected by similar arrangements nationwide. “This is not just about financial exploitation,” notes elderly rights activist Dr. Leyla Arslan. “We are seeing fundamental human rights violations – the right to family life, the right to property, even basic dignity being stripped away under the guise of legal protection.”
A Test for Turkish Justice
The guardianship scandal represents more than just a collection of individual misconduct cases – it exposes systemic vulnerabilities in Turkey’s legal protections for vulnerable citizens. In theory, such a crisis should serve as a pivotal test of the judiciary’s willingness to police itself. In practice, however, Turkey’s justice system has been tested repeatedly over the past decade — and time and again, corrupt members of the legal profession have emerged unscathed, often rewarded rather than punished.
The January 2025 appointment of Bekir Altun, a judge long accused of bribery, nepotism, and judicial manipulation, to lead Turkey’s Justice Academy is emblematic of this entrenched impunity. Despite detailed allegations from Istanbul’s former chief prosecutor, supported by audio evidence from another senior judge, Altun faced no meaningful consequences and instead ascended to a role responsible for training the country’s future judges and prosecutors. Critics argue that such promotions signal to the judiciary that loyalty to political power and participation in corruption are career assets rather than liabilities.
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This enduring pattern — where high-ranking judicial figures accused of serious misconduct are shielded from accountability — has eroded public confidence in the courts. For the families affected by guardianship abuse, this history fuels skepticism that the current investigation will produce real reform. At its core, the scandal forces a stark question: can a system that consistently protects its most compromised members ever deliver justice for its most vulnerable citizens?
Background: A Courthouse with a History of Corruption
The Istanbul Anatolian Courthouse’s current crisis does not exist in isolation. Over the past two years, it has been at the center of repeated and serious corruption allegations.
In October 2023, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the district, İsmail Uçar, sent a damning letter to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors accusing Bekir Altun, president of the judicial commission, of orchestrating bribery, extortion, manipulation of court assignments, and intimidation of judges. Uçar alleged that criminal networks were shielded from justice, gang leaders released without trial, and magistrates accepted bribes for content removal orders — claims supported by findings from the Freedom of Expression Association.
A month later, Judge Erdinç Demet publicly accused Altun of pressuring him and other judges to alter verdicts, notably in the high-profile Necat Gülseven case, threatening reassignment for noncompliance, and fostering a climate of fear inside the courthouse. Audio evidence allegedly captured Altun’s direct interference in judicial decisions.
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These domestic warnings were echoed internationally. In December 2023, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body GRECO rated Turkey’s judicial anti-corruption compliance as “globally unsatisfactory,” citing the lack of robust ethics rules, inadequate independence of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, and persistent conflicts of interest. The report noted that rather than investigate such allegations, authorities often targeted those who spoke out, including lawyers and judges.
Seen in this light, the guardianship scandal appears less an aberration than a predictable outcome of an institution already plagued by a culture of impunity and entrenched corruption.
Categories: Turkey Human Rights Blog