(Adnkronos) – More than 200 arrests in Turkey. International media spotlights are turning to the country led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the Nato summit in early July. Donald Trump will also be there. Police detained 209 people during operations targeting individuals with alleged ties to jihadist organizations or far-left groups.
Arrest warrants have been issued for 241 suspects. According to local media, these include trade unionists, lawyers, and activists. Searches were carried out in Ankara and Istanbul. Among those detained, they reported, is Yildiz Tar, director of the newspaper Kaos Gl. An academic from Ankara University and a trade unionist are among those detained, according to the newspaper Gazete Oksijen. The Progressive Lawyers Association (Chd) reported the detention of two lawyers in the capital and a third in the city on the Bosphorus.
Among those detained, 185 are suspected of belonging to far-left organizations, including the Dhkp-C (Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front), considered a terrorist organization by the Ankara government. From Reporters sans frontières, Erol Onderoglu denounced Tar’s arrest as “unacceptable” and called for his release, insisting that the anticipated summit cannot be a justification for his “arbitrary” arrest. In view of the summit on July 7 and 8, Turkish authorities have banned demonstrations and gatherings from next Sunday until July 10.
