Turkey arrests nearly 180 ahead of NATO summit on terrorism charges

Turkish police have detained 178 people across the country on terrorism charges as a NATO summit approaches in the capital, Ankara. The detentions followed earlier raids in Istanbul and Ankara that initially saw 225 people arrested, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that the detainees are accused of terrorism. The Turkish human rights group MLSA reported that those arrested included journalists, academics, lawyers, trade unionists, teachers, students, and other civil society representatives. Among them were Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of a Turkish LGBTQIA+ magazine, Emel Memiş, an economics professor at Ankara University, and environmental activists.

MLSA indicated that some of the arrested individuals were questioned about membership in the banned communist party TKP/ML or asked about their training with weapons. Journalist Tar was reportedly asked about his stance on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "Year of the Family" initiative, which promotes traditional family values.

The prosecutor's office justified the arrests by claiming the detainees might carry out terrorist acts, aiming to make Turkey appear as a country known for terrorism. Human Rights Watch condemned the detentions, stating that the "abuse of terrorism laws to carry out mass arrests and silence people ahead of a NATO summit disregards the alliance's fundamental values." The NATO summit, expecting leaders from 32 member states, is scheduled to take place in Ankara on July 7-8.

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The abuse of terrorism laws to carry out mass arrests and silence people ahead of a NATO summit disregards the alliance's fundamental values.