The US and NATO need to stand up for what remains of Turkey’s democracy.

The latest moves in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s death-by-lawfare sentence against Turkey’s liberal opposition show a dangerous blend of desperation and cunning in his bid to perpetuate autocracy.

Erdogan has spent the past trying to silence the Republican People’s Party (CHP)—the one political party strong enough to challenge the dictator-in-disguise. Between arrests of major opposition figures like Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and kangaroo court orders to dissolve CHP leadership, this strategy constitutes a quiet and protracted auto-coup. While waiting on results from his latest legal onslaught, Erdogan has turned his gaze to Ankara, looking to finish off the party’s chances of running a strong presidential candidate in 2028.