Turkish police detained at least 20 activists, including Deniz Aktaş, co-chair of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), and Berfin Polat, co-chair of the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), during dawn raids in İstanbul on Tuesday.
The raids, conducted under the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s 2024 investigation, targeted members of ESP, the Socialist Women’s Assemblies (SKM), SGDF, and BEKSAV, a cultural research foundation. Lawyer access has been restricted for 24 hours, with authorities enforcing secrecy over the case.
The detainees include prominent unionists, journalists, and political leaders, such as SKM spokesperson Tanya Kara and ESP executive Okan Danacı. Activists have criticised the arrests as part of a broader campaign against dissenting voices.
Other detainees include Senem Nur Pektaş, SKM general council member; unionists Meliha Kayacı and Serpil Topal; journalist Züleyha Müldür; ESP members Ezgi Gürbüz, Emrah Topaloğlu, and Cafer Erözsoy; Gamze Toprak, ESP Sultangazi district co-chair; and activists Sezgin Zevkibol, Leyla Can, Simay Ada Kart, Erol Tunç, Eylül Öztürk, İbrahim Akbay, Berkan Deveci, and Beyza Nur Samancı.
The Socialist Legal Bureau (EHB) reported additional search warrants for their clients, citing concerns about transparency and due process. The crackdown raises international alarm over Turkey’s treatment of political opposition.
Meanwhile Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party condemned the detentions, stating on X (former Twitter): “We do not accept these arrests targeting our affiliate party ESP. Our comrades are not alone. Those who believe they can suppress socialists, revolutionaries, and patriots with raids and arrests will once again be proven wrong. Let us strengthen our united struggle for peace and democracy!”
