A broad coalition of political parties gathered outside Silivri Prison to demand the immediate release of political prisoners and the enforcement of rulings by Turkey’s Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. The action followed earlier visits to Edirne Prison, where Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ and Selçuk Mızraklı remain unlawfully detained. Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Osman Kavala are held at Silivri prison despite binding court rulings in their favour. Party representatives called for urgent and concrete steps towards democracy, justice and peace.
The action was joined by a broad alliance of opposition and left wing political forces, including the CHP, DEM Party, the EHP (Labourer Movement Party), EMEP (the Labour Party), TİP (the Workers’ Party of Turkey), TÖP (the Social Freedom Party), the ESP (Socialist Party of the Oppressed) , the DBP (Democratic Regions Party), the Revolutionary Party, the Socialist Councils Federation, the Socialist Solidarity Platform, the SYKP (Socialist Reestablishment Party) and the Green Left Party. Party leaders, co chairs, spokespeople and representatives took part, underlining the growing unity demanding justice, democracy and the freedom of all political prisoners in Turkey.
CHP Deputy Chair Gül Çiftçi said Turkey is experiencing systematic repression through the judiciary. “Courts have been turned into tools to punish electoral success and silence the opposition,” she said. “From Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ to the Gezi prisoners and attacks on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the message is clear. The government cannot defeat the opposition politically, so it targets them through the courts.” She stressed that enforcing court rulings is not optional but a constitutional obligation.
EMEP Chair Seyit Aslan described Turkey’s justice system as a political weapon used to silence opposition. “Everyday new political operations take place. Those protecting nature, demanding workers’ rights or defending democracy are imprisoned, while perpetrators of serious crimes walk free. There can be no normalisation while political prisoners remain behind bars.”
Although party representatives were denied direct access, messages from Demirtaş and Mızraklı were delivered by their lawyers and read out to supporters. In a joint message, Demirtaş and Mızraklı said they were in good spirits and fully committed to the struggle for democracy. “Our imprisonment was political and our release will also be political. We are not counting days. The real task is building a strong and principled democratic movement that serves workers and oppressed peoples.” They thanked all parties and supporters for standing in solidarity and called for deeper unity in the fight for democratic change.
The delegation announced further visits to Kandıra and Ankara Sincan Prisons, pledging to continue mobilisation until all political prisoners are freed and international court rulings are fully implemented.
