Ahead of the NATO summit to be held on July 7-8 in Ankara, following the previous ban on rallies and protests by local authorities, a large-scale operation was carried out in many locations simultaneously in the morning hours.
The Ankara General Prosecutor’s Office announced that detention orders have been issued for 241 people suspected of links to various organizations, while 209 of them have been arrested.
According to the statement, the operations were carried out by the Ankara Police and Gendarmerie Command as part of an investigation into “whitewashing the activities of terrorist organizations at the national level.” The arrested are suspected of having links to organizations such as ISIS (DAESH), DSİH, TKP/ML, TKİP, MLKP, DKP/BÖG, DHKP/C and THKP/C.
Among those arrested is Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of the KAOS GL media outlet. The KAOS GL organization announced that Tar was expected to appear in court in another case related to the investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK).
The Revolutionary Party (Devrimci Parti) also announced that its chairwoman Elif Torun Öneren, as well as many party members, are among those detained. According to reports, detainees have been placed under a 24-hour restriction on meetings with lawyers. The DEM party has reacted by condemning the operation, demanding the immediate release of those detained.
It has called the action “arbitrary arrest” of politicians, activists and citizens, also criticizing the ban on rallies in Ankara. The DEM Party stressed that rights such as freedom of expression and organization are guaranteed in a democracy and that “turning Ankara into a kind of prison because of the NATO summit is unacceptable.”
Ankara authorities had announced a day earlier that as part of the NATO summit, any form of protest and public activity would be banned for 13 days, including rallies, press statements, setting up stands and other activities.
According to the decision, the ban was taken for security reasons and to guarantee public order, while strict restrictions have also been imposed in some areas of the city and in the airspace for drones. Also, activities such as concerts, parties, seminars, graduation ceremonies and similar events throughout Ankara have been banned from July 6-12. /Telegraph