More than 100 people were detained by Turkish authorities on Sunday after joining an anti-NATO protest organised by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), just days before world leaders arrive in Ankara for the NATO summit.
Turkey is set to host leaders from all 32 NATO member states, along with representatives from partner countries, during the two-day summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. In preparation for the high-profile gathering, authorities have tightened security across the capital by banning demonstrations, erecting barricades and closing major roads.
In a statement, the TKP said more than 100 of its members, including several party officials, were detained while participating in a protest march through Kizilay Square in central Ankara.
Videos from the scene showed protesters waving flags and chanting slogans including “Murderer NATO, get out of our country” and “No passage to NATO” before riot police moved in, using tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Meanwhile, separate demonstrations were also held in Istanbul, where hundreds of protesters marched from Taksim Square to Dolmabahce. Two additional rallies organised by left-wing groups took place in the Kadikoy district, although those events remained peaceful despite a strong police presence.
TKP Secretary-General Kemal Okuyan said the demonstrations were organised to oppose NATO’s presence and influence in Turkey.
“We promised that Ankara would not remain silent in the face of the NATO summit, and today we fulfilled that promise,” he told supporters during the protest in Istanbul.
The Turkish government had not issued an official statement on the arrests at the time of reporting.
The detentions come amid a wider security crackdown across the country. Last month, Turkish authorities arrested 103 people during anti-terror operations in Ankara, while a total of 225 individuals were detained in the raids.
On Sunday, local media also reported that another 39 people, including journalists, activists and academics, were detained during separate anti-terror operations across Turkey.
The latest arrests have drawn criticism from opposition figures. DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) court-appointed chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused the government of using the NATO summit as justification to restrict civil liberties and suppress public dissent.
Bakirhan claimed Turkey had effectively been turned into “a detention centre”, describing the current situation as resembling an undeclared state of martial law.
Turkish prosecutors have previously maintained that the anti-terror operations were aimed at dismantling militant activities and have not officially linked the raids to the upcoming NATO summit.
