File Photo: Orhan Turan, head of the influential TUSIAD business and industry association. Photo courtesy of TUSIAD website.
The probe into Orhan Turan, head of the influential TUSIAD business and industry association, was opened by Istanbul's chief public prosecutor following remarks he made last week about the justice system, Anadolu news agency said.
He is under investigation for "seeking to influence the judiciary" and "spreading misleading information" -- the same charges levelled at Omer Aras, another top TUSIAD figure who was named in a probe on Friday.
Both were taken by police on Wednesday to appear before an Istanbul judge.
At issue are critical remarks the pair made at TUSIAD's annual general meeting last Thursday.
In his speech, Turan said Turkey would not be able to address its problems without restoring the rule of law, singling out the recent wave of detentions of journalists, politicians and others making critical remarks as well as the removal of elected opposition mayors.
He also said the lack of accountability following disasters where many lives were lost, be they earthquakes, fires or accidents, had also impacted public perception of the justice system.
"Behind these problems lies a loss of trust in the rule of law," he said.
Aras made similar remarks about the wave of arrests and also criticised the legal probes into Istanbul's powerful opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- Erdogan's biggest political challenger -- saying such matters "created anxiety in society and shook trust".
Later that night on X, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc slammed "attempts to interfere with the justice system", promising "the strongest possible response".
On Wednesday afternoon, Erdogan fired a direct shot across TUSIAD's bows.
"If you are a business association, you will learn to act like one. You will not provoke the nation, you will not provoke state institutions nor try to pressure the judiciary," he told a meeting of his ruling AKP.
"Those who wholeheartedly believe in the rule of law must be on the side of the law and not with those who support terrorism," he said.
The latest probe came a day after the interior minister said 282 people had been detained over the course of five days in an ongoing operation targeting those with suspected "terror" ties.
Among them were members of the pro-Kurdish party DEM, the third largest in parliament, journalists and several left-wing figures, Istanbul's public prosecutor said in a statement.
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