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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should look into members of the opposition who serve on the board of Isbank, Hurriyet newspaper said on Monday, knocking the shares of the countrys largest listed lender.

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Erdogan and his aides have previously called for greater scrutiny of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) over its 28 percent stake in Isbank, bequeathed to the party by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.

While the CHP does not receive dividends from the stake - those go to cultural associations, as stipulated by Ataturks will - party members do have seats on the banks board.

It owns 28 percent of Isbank shares. It cant get money from there but it has four board members. What do these four members do? This must be looked into, Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on his plane returning from Azerbaijan.

Isbank shares tumbled 5.8 percent to 3.9 lira by 1254 GMT, underperforming a 0.9 percent decline in Istanbuls benchmark BIST-100 index. The Isbank sell-off weighed on banking stocks as well, with the index of bank shares dropping nearly 3 percent.

Isbank said it was too important to be made a subject of political debate, adding that trust in banks needed to be preserved for the sake of Turkeys economy.

The bank said there had been times when Ataturks 28.09 percent stake had been represented by the CHP and the Treasury, together or separately.

This does not have any impact on our banks activities or the way it does business, it said.

Since assuming a more powerful executive presidency in July, Erdogan has tightened his grip on the economy and monetary policy, appointing his son-in-law as finance minister and taking charge of the sovereign wealth fund. Fears about growing authoritarianism and the lack of central bank independence have helped send the lira down 40 percent this year.

Erdogan wants to see lower interest rates to spur lending and boost economic growth. He has repeatedly called on listed lenders to extend more credit to the real economy.

Economists say the Turkish economy is headed for a hard landing and banks are likely to see a spike in bad debt.

One of Erdogans aides, Yigit Bulut, called in 2016 for the nationalization of Isbank, after the leader of the CHP referred to the president as a tin-pot dictator.

Authorities previously seized the assets of Bank Asya, a lender started by followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally whom the government accuses of masterminding a failed military coup in 2016.

On Monday, the head of the CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said his party did not interfere in Isbank and was holding the shares out of duty to Ataturks legacy. He speculated that Erdogan wanted to transfer the stake to Turkeys sovereign wealth fund.

Everyone needs to respect Ataturks heritage. None of our colleagues who are part of the Isbank board meddle in its banking affairs, they only carry the honor of representing Ataturks shares, he told reporters.

Does he want to transfer it to the wealth fund? This needs to be looked at.

The government started the wealth fund in 2016 to develop and increase the value of Turkeys strategic assets, and has since transferred billions of dollars of state assets to it, including stakes in flag carrier Turkish Airlines, major banks and fixed-line operator Turk Telekom.

Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Dominic Evans and Gareth Jones

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Turkey's Erdogan calls for investigation into opposition role ...

The White House slapped sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers over the case, which has badly strained relations between Washington and Ankara, culminating in President Donald Trumps sudden decision to raise trade tariffs on Turkish steel.

Also imprisoned is NASA scientist Serkan Golge, a U.S.-Turkish citizen convicted of links to FETO that the State Department says are "without credible evidence."

The crackdown has even reached inside the U.S. mission in Ankara, where three workers are accused of links to the PKK including Hamza Ulucay, a Turkish national who worked there for more than three decades before his arrest this year.

In January, Erdogan's government created a commission to review decisions made under the state of emergency, but its members are appointed by the same authorities responsible for approving dismissals and the enforced closing of Gulen-linked schools.

In the meantime, those affected have no right to work in public service, their bank accounts are frozen, and passports confiscated, according to Human Rights Watch, which said more than 102,000 people had appealed to the commission, though it has yet to begin issuing any decisions.

Status is irrelevant in Erdogans purge.

New York Knicks center Enes Kanter, a Turkish national who has long been an outspoken critic of Erdogan, was charged in December with insulting him in a series of tweets. Prosecutors want to try Kanter in absentia and have him sentenced to more than four years in prison, if he is convicted.

Kanter wrote in Time on Tuesday that he could not go home because of his views. This month, my dad will face trial in Turkey, Kanter wrote. He is a university professor, not a terrorist. Because I play in the NBA, I am lucky enough to have a public platform, so Ive used every opportunity to make sure everyone knows about Erdogans cruelty and disdain for human rights.

Turkey is a crucial U.S. partner in the region it borders Iraq and Syria, and hosts a U.S. base at Incirlik from which strikes against ISIS have been launched.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees and who visited Brunson in jail, suggested last month that Washington should seek an alternative base in the region. Turkey is an important NATO ally but isnt acting like one, she said.

High above courtroom 29 on the sixth floor of Istanbuls giant central courthouse is a brass engraving of Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, the secularist founder of modern Turkey.

Directly facing him on Thursday morning was Tunca reten, attending only the third hearing since his pre-dawn arrest.

Although released from prison on bail last October, reten has yet to be cleared of the allegations against him or be committed for trial. Turkish authorities still have the laptop computers and iPhones seized from his apartment.

They even took my iPod for Gods sake, he recalls. Its just my music. What do they want with it?

reten believes his case is an act of revenge by the government after he reported the contents of hacked emails from Erdogans son-in-law, Berat Albayrak.

He was not allowed to see a lawyer until five days after his arrest, and the precise charges against him have changed at least twice; he was briefly accused of membership in a proscribed Marxist terrorist organization, DHKP.

Albayrak was energy minister in 2016 when hacked emails, circulated to a number of journalists, revealed his company was allegedly linked to the trade of oil from ISIS-held territories in northern Iraq. He is now the finance minister tasked with managing Turkeys inflation-crippled economy. Albayrak has denied the accusations, although reten's report was never officially disputed.

Of course they are doing this to punish me, reten said. At my first hearing the judge didn't even ask any questions. It is the risk we take by reporting in Turkey."

He passed his time in jail by playing chess with other inmates, and managed to avoid beatings from officers even notorious naked searches.

Each day, prisoners are required to strip to their underwear to prove they are not concealing contraband items. In an act of defiance, reten simply lowered his underwear. After I did that a couple of times they just stopped asking, he laughed.

Perhaps most cruelly of all, he was prevented from seeing his fiancee, Minez, 31; Turkish law only guarantees prison visits for spouses. Eventually the couple got married in the prison chapel. Finally, she could visit me, he said. I am so proud of her. She has been so strong through everything. She is also a journalist, so she kind of understands, but it has been so difficult for her.

Since his release, he has been able to return to work as a freelance reporter, including for an online Turkish news site, Dikem, but is banned from traveling.

His lawyers on Thursday asked a judge to lift the travel ban and return retens personal items; after a brief recess, the judge refused.

They still have my music, reten sighed.

Four decades after Alan Parkers stomach-churning Midnight Express hit American movie theaters, conditions in Turkeys prisons have improved but rights groups say beatings and abuse remain commonplace.

The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported in one of its studies, Suspicious Deaths and Suicides in Turkey, that there has been an increase in deaths inside Turkeys jails and detention centers. Among the recent cases is that of Sabri olak, a retired professor who was jailed reportedly because he once appeared in a television documentary about Gulen.

The State Department country report for Turkey cites a catalog of prison abuse cases "included alleged torture of detainees in official custody; allegations of forced disappearance; arbitrary arrest and detention under the state of emergency of tens of thousands, including members of parliament."

Although the Ministry of Justice did not respond directly to NBC News, it has described the country report as "one-sided" and "subjective" and said abuse allegations are always investigated. It was "pushing the limits of irony" that the U.S., which violated human rights at Guantanamo, "dares to evaluate Turkey with respect to human rights and freedoms," the ministry said.

According to figures published in an August report by the New York-based Journalists and Writers Foundation, some 44 percent of inmates in Turkey are still awaiting trial or appeal.

"Even though the state of emergency has ended," reten said, "we are still living it every day."

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Turkey's Erdogan to build more prisons as post-coup purge ...

Turkey Wealth Fund, the state-backed financial entity which owns nearly half of Turkish Airlines and other stakes in over a dozen large companies, is now headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the country's Official Gazette.

The value of the fund is estimated at $40 billion (34.4 billion), and can be used to maintain pensions and welfare systems intimes of crisisor to finance major projects.

Ankara set up the entity after the failed coup attempt in 2016. Within the last two years, the authorities transferred billions of state assets into the fund, including its stakes in Turkish airlines, Turk Telekom, and several major banks. The goal, according to Ankara, was to use it to invest ininfrastructure and shore up financial markets.

Read more: Turkish interest rate brings Erdoganomics down to earth

Last September, however, Erdogan dismissed its chairman Mehmet Bostan, arguing that the results had fallen short of the "targeted and desired" outcome.

"We have decided that things cannot go on like this," Erdogan added.

'The man who has captured the state'

The government appointed Himmet Karadag, head of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, as acting chairman.

Since then, Erdogan has pushed through a controversial constitutional reform to give the president expansive new powers and he won the presidential election in June 2018. Last Wednesday, Erdogan reportedly appointed himself chairman and named Finance and Treasury Minister, Berat Albayrak, as deputy chief. Minister Albayrak is married to Erdogan's daughter. The president also named seven new board members as part of the overhaul.

Opposition politican Muharrem Ince, who ran against Erdogan, slammed the move on Twitter.

"The man who has captured the state has now taken public companies prisoners," he said. "This desire to control everything will in the end give way to controlling nothing. And the whole country foots the bill."

Turkey has been facing a serious financial crisis for several months, with thelira losing about 40 percent of its value since the start of 2018.

dj/ng(AFP, dpa, Reuters)

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Turkeys Erdogan names himself head of state wealth fund ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Monday to try to come to an agreement over the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib.

The leaders of the two countries are on opposite sides of the deadly seven-year conflict but remain key global allies.

"We have a lot of issues to discuss, including difficult ones," Putin said at the start of the talks at his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

He added that the meeting would help "find solutions for where there are none yet."

"I think not just the region, but the entire world has eyes focused on our meeting today," Erdogan said for his part, in comments that were translated into Russian.

"I believe that the statement we will make after the Sochi meeting will give new hope to the region," he added.

Russia-backed forces of the Syrian regime have massed around Idlib province in recent weeks, sparking fears of an imminent air and ground attack to retake the last major opposition bastion.

The United Nations and non-governmental organisations have repeatedly warned that such an offensive would unleash a "bloodbath" and "humanitarian catastrophe" in Idlib, which is home to three million people.

Turkey has intensified negotiations with Russia to avert a possible attack, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire.

Erdogan and Putin met previously on September 7 in Tehran for a three-way summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that saw the Russian and Turkish leaders openly disagree over how to deal with the rebel stronghold, which borders Turkey.

"The situation with Idlib is acute," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti state news agency ahead of the talks Monday.

"There are certain differences in approaches" between the leaders, he added.

- Mass exodus fears -

The two men met as Turkey's military has sent significant reinforcements to Idlib in recent weeks, according to media reports.

They were sent over the border Sunday and included tanks and other hardware, with a convoy of 50 military vehicles, according to the Hurriyet daily.

Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Turkey however backs opposition fighters seeking the ouster of the Syrian leader, and has said a large-scale offensive against the rebels could trigger a mass exodus towards its border.

Russian and Syrian air strikes, artillery fire and barrel bomb attacks have killed more than 30 civilians across the province in the past month, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The bombardment has slowed over the past week, however, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that the Syrian regime is not preparing a major offensive against Idlib, adding that Moscow will do everything to protect civilians.

"What is being presented at the moment as the beginning of a Russian-backed offensive by Syrian forces is not a faithful representation of the facts," Lavrov said.

"We are doing everything to ensure that the civilian population would not suffer," he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said Turkey was ready to cooperate with anyone in the fight against terror groups in Syria, but criticised the Damascus regime for using the presence of jihadist groups to legitimise a possible operation in Idlib.

The Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, when the Assad regime launched a vicious crackdown on pro-democracy protests that evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and world powers.

It has killed an estimated 360,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes.

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Putin, Erdogan hold talks on Syria's rebel-held Idlib - World ...

This frame grab from video provided by Central Station for Turkish Intervention, an activist-operated media group monitoring Turkish activities in Syria, that is consistent with independent AP reporting, shows a Turkish military convoy heading to some of the 12 Turkish observations points that ring Idlib, Syria, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Turkey sent in military reinforcements Thursday to beef up its positions inside Syria's last rebel bastion Idlib, activists reported, even as the Turkish defense minister said Ankara is still trying with Russia and Iran to prevent a humanitarian tragedy in the case of a threatened Syrian government offensive. (Central Station for Turkish Intervention, via AP)

BEIRUT The Latest on developments related to the war in Syria (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

The Kremlin says that President Vladimir Putin could meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that preparations are under way for Putin's meeting with Erdogan in Sochi on Monday. He wouldn't elaborate on the meeting's agenda, but the two leaders are likely to discuss the tensions in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

The Syrian army, backed by Russia and Iran, is preparing for a military offensive to reclaim control over Idlib, the last remaining rebel stronghold on the border with Turkey. Turkey strongly warned against the military action, saying it would trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.

Russia has urged Turkey to persuade rebels in Idlib to sever ties with al-Qaida linked rebels in the area.

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1:10 p.m.

Turkey's military and defense chiefs have visited areas bordering Syria where the country has reinforced troops amid fears of a looming Syrian government offensive on Syria's last rebel-held province of Idlib.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of Military Staff Yasar Guler on Friday inspected troops in the border provinces of Hatay and Gaziantep.

Turkey has been reinforcing the border in recent weeks. Syrian activists meanwhile said new military reinforcements had arrived to beef up Turkish observation points inside Idlib.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported late Thursday that commando units as well as howitzers, tanks, armored personnel carriers and heavy work machines were sent to the town of Reyhanli, in Hatay province as reinforcements

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12:20 p.m.

Turkey's foreign minister says his country is still working for a peaceful solution for Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib, adding that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would hold talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Turkish media said the two leaders would meet in the Russian city of Sochi.

Speaking during a visit to Pakistan on Friday, Mevlut Cavusoglu said: "We will continue our efforts with Iran and with Russia. ... We will continue our efforts on international platforms as well." His comments were broadcast live on Turkish television.

At a meeting in Tehran last week, the leaders of Russia and Iran backed military operations in Idlib despite pleas from Erdogan for a cease-fire.

Turkey fears a humanitarian crisis in Idlib, which straddles Turkey's borders and is home to more than 3 million people.

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The Latest: Kremlin says Putin could meet Erdogan next week