The Turkish capital, Ankara, is busy preparing for the NATO summit on July 7 and 8. The high-profile meeting is taking place amid international tensions, fueled by US President Donald Trump’s statements against the trans-Atlantic security alliance.
Nevertheless, the summit is particularly important for Turkey because it has NATO’s second-largest army and plays a central role in its southeastern flank. This is the first visit by a sitting US president to Türkiye in 17 years, since Barack Obama in 2009.
However, the wave of arrests has eclipsed those preparations. According to media reports, a total of 225 people have been arrested in recent days. 178 of them are still in pre-trial detention. These include human rights and environmental activists and journalists. A strict two-week ban on public gatherings has also been imposed in Ankara.
terrorism charges
Turkish prosecutors justified the action by citing ongoing investigations into terrorist organizations. He says the goal is to highlight the activities of organizations throughout Türkiye.
Those arrested include Nevzat Ozer, representative of the environment TEMA Foundation in Ankara; economist Amel Memis Permaxis; and Yildiz Tar, journalist and editor-in-chief of LGBTQ portal Kaos GL. Lawyers Semra Demir and Kursat Bafra have also been detained on charges of belonging to an armed terrorist organization. They remain in pre-trial detention.
Many of the accused were questioned about possible ties to the banned Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist, which the state has classified as a terrorist organization. The inquiries apparently focused on possible aliases, military training and organizational structures, among other things. Those questioned rejected the allegations, with some saying they did not even know about the group.
Why is Türkiye arresting protesters?
So why is the government adopting this stance, risking international criticism, just before the NATO summit?
Political scientist Burke Eisen finds this move difficult to understand. A government hoping for positive headlines ahead of the summit is only undermining its own interests, he told DW. At the same time, he highlighted a familiar pattern: the arrests of people from the political left before the last NATO summit in Türkiye.
Essen said that this step could also be a signal to America. This time, the crackdown seems to be targeting people whom authorities suspect of planning protests.
“Many of those arrested have no political affiliations or any connection to the political left,” Essen said. He further added, “This can also be explained by the weaknesses of the judicial system.”
Arrests highlight Türkiye’s ‘deepening repression’
Rights organization Human Rights Watch has also strongly criticized.
“The abuse of terrorism laws to carry out mass arrests and silence people ahead of a NATO summit runs counter to the alliance’s founding values,” Benjamin Ward, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch, wrote on the watchdog. website.
“Clearing the streets of Ankara of potential protesters further exposes the Turkish government’s deep repression,” he said, adding that Turkey’s “NATO allies should use their influence to urge the authorities to change course.”
This article was originally written in German.