Turkey Arrests 209 Ahead of NATO Summit, Rights Group Says
Turkey has detained at least 209 people in Ankara just days before a major NATO summit, targeting political activists, lawyers, an academic, and a prominent LGBT rights journalist, according to Human Rights Watch [182141]. The mass arrests, which took place overnight on June 22-23, come as authorities imposed a 13-day ban on all public assemblies, demonstrations, leafleting, and banners from June 28 to July 10, citing security and public order for the summit scheduled for July 7-8 [182141][180342].
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said the arrests aimed to “decipher the action and activities of terrorist organizations,” linking those detained to revolutionary leftist groups and the Islamic State (ISIS), but provided no details of specific crimes [182141]. Prosecutors have requested the arrest of 75 of those detained, including members of the TEMA Foundation environmental group, Associate Professor Emel Memiş, and journalist Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of KaosGL [181644]. Authorities also are searching for 32 others [180342].
Turkish media reported that one man, alleged to have ISIS links, died in a shootout with police during his arrest [182141]. Human Rights Watch called for a full, independent investigation into his death [182141].
“The misuse of terrorism laws to conduct mass arrests and silence people in the run-up to a NATO summit flies in the face of the founding values of the alliance,” said Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, who called for the immediate release of those detained [182141].
Five Turkish media outlets critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign policy—İlke TV, Ulusal Kanal, NOW TV, Cumhuriyet, and Medyascope—have been denied accreditation for the summit, marking a first for a NATO host country [181660].
Authorities barred contact with detainees for 24 hours before allowing lawyer visits [182141]. It remains unclear how many will face criminal investigation or pretrial detention [182141].