As Turkey prepares to host the NATO Summit in Ankara on 7–8 July, a sweeping crackdown has targeted activists, lawyers, students and trade unionists across the capital.
In the early hours of recent days, police carried out coordinated raids on dozens of homes following a blanket ban on demonstrations imposed by the Ankara Governor’s Office. Doors were broken down during simultaneous operations, and more than 200 people were detained.
Those taken into custody include members of Yeni Demokrat Gençlik (YDG), Halkevleri, the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), the Free University Movement, the Progressive Lawyers Association, the People’s Law Office, and the Precarious Unemployed Workers Union (UMUT-SEN).
According to reporting by Evrensel, the operations form part of intensified measures to suppress dissent in the lead-up to the NATO Summit. The ban on meetings and demonstrations, combined with mass detentions, has raised serious concerns about violations of basic democratic rights.
Repression has also extended into the digital sphere. The anti-NATO campaign website “NATO Defol” (natodefol.com), which published material critical of the alliance and documented its military interventions, has been blocked by court order. Campaigners have condemned the move as an attempt to restrict access to information and silence opposition voices online ahead of the summit.
The AKP government appears intent on silencing anti-imperialist voices and intimidating broader social opposition ahead of the summit. Yet opposition to NATO, an alliance long associated with war and intervention, cannot be treated as a crime.
These developments represent a clear escalation in the repression of political expression and organisation in Turkey. The right to protest, organise and speak out must be defended.
All those detained should be released immediately.