The arrest of at least 209 people in the Turkish capital, Ankara, ahead of the July 7-8, 2026 NATO summit there highlights Türkiye's ruthless intolerance of freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today.
In raids overnight between June 22 and 23, the police arrested people including political activists, lawyers, an academic, and a journalist who is a prominent LGBT rights activist. The Ankara prosecutor's office said on June 23 that the arrests were to "decipher the action and activities of terrorist organizations," and linked those arrested to revolutionary leftist groups and to the Islamic State (ISIS) without providing details of any alleged crimes or criminal activity.
"The misuse of terrorism laws to conduct mass arrests and silence people in the run-up to a NATO summit flies in the face of the founding values of the alliance," said Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should immediately release those detained, and NATO should insist that peaceful expression and assembly must be permitted around the summit."
The evening before the arrests, the Ankara governor's office banned all public assemblies and demonstrations and activities such as distributing leaflets and displaying banners from midnight on June 28 to midnight on July 10.
The 13-day ban is being justified on grounds of security and public order for the NATO summit, as is the authorization of "preventative policing powers." The arrests followed a few hours after the announcement of the ban, although the prosecutor's office's statement about the arrests made no explicit reference to the NATO summit or the ban.
The authorities issued an order barring any contact with the detainees for 24 hours, before allowing their lawyers to visit. It is not yet known which, how many, or on what grounds, any of the detainees might face criminal investigation or if courts will remand some in pretrial detention.
Turkish media reported that one man, alleged to have connections to the armed group Islamic State, died in an exchange of gunfire with police at the time of his attempted arrest. The circumstances of his death require a full, effective, independent investigation, capable of objectively determining the extent of any police responsibility for his death, Human Rights Watch said.
The arrests and the NATO summit take place as other rights violations are prevalent in Türkiye, including far-reaching restrictions on the main political opposition party, the media, and freedom of expression in general.
The leadership of the main political opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was recently removed by court order, and Ekrem Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor and opposition presidential candidate, has been excluded from political life by being detained and put on trial. Many journalists face abusive prosecutions for critical reporting and social media posts, with at least 21 reporters and media workers currently in prison.
The Turkish authorities also have in recent days arbitrarily ordered the blocking of X social media accounts belonging to LGBT and women's rights organizations in Türkiye, including well-known organizations providing services to women subjected to domestic violence and sexual violence. Those bans came as LGBT groups prepared to celebrate Pride month with planned assemblies and events that the Turkish authorities generally seek to prevent.
"Clearing the streets of Ankara of potential protesters only further exposes the Turkish government's deepening repression," Ward said. "Türkiye's NATO allies should use their influence to urge the authorities to change course."
