Turkey Jails 209 in Pre-NATO Summit Crackdown, Suspends Assembly Rights for 13 Days
Turkish authorities have detained 209 people and suspended all public assembly rights for 13 days ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, marking one of the largest security sweeps before the high-profile meeting.
The Ankara Governorate announced a ban on all gatherings in open and closed spaces from June 28 to July 10, including protests, demonstrations, press statements, hunger strikes, sit-ins, and the distribution of flyers or banners [180377]. The measure restricts citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and expression for the duration of the summit.
The detentions, which targeted suspected organizers of planned protests, came as police conducted early-morning raids on multiple addresses across the capital, detaining more than 200 people involved in political and social organizations [180342][180373]. The prosecutor’s office confirmed 209 arrests and said authorities are still searching for 32 others [180342]. Critics claim the operation aims to silence opposition to the NATO gathering [180373].
Separately, police in Istanbul detained 12 people during a banned LGBTQ+ pride march on Sunday, though all were later released [179101]. Among those held were two journalists covering the event [179107]. The annual Trans Pride March, which authorities had previously banned, continued despite the brief detentions [179101][178177].
In a related legal development, the trial of five Turkish police officers accused of torturing lawyer Murat Çelik during a protest on July 8, 2023, is set to resume on June 26. Prosecutors allege the officers handcuffed Çelik in a painful reverse position and used physical violence, but crucial audio-visual recordings from the official SEGBİS system have disappeared [180375].