233 people were detained in wide-ranging operations in Ankara and Istanbul ahead of the NATO summit. Among those detained were Yıldız Tar, Editor-in-Chief of the prominent LGBTQ+ publication Kaos GL, and Elif Torun Öneren, Chair of the Revolutionary Party.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced the detentions were carried out as part of investigations into various illegal organizations. The suspects are accused of links to radical left and jihadist groups such as ISIS and DHKP-C.
Charges Against Yıldız Tar Remain Unclear
Authorities have not yet detailed the specific charges against Yıldız Tar. Rights organizations reported that journalists, activists, and lawyers, including Tar, were detained in the raids. According to the Media and Law Studies Association, Tar was previously detained in February 2025 on charges of "membership in an armed organization."
At the time, Tar denied the charges, saying the detention was part of a crackdown aimed at silencing LGBTQ+ activists. The Turkish government has banned pride marches since 2015.
Reaction from Opposition and Press Freedom Advocates
The DEM Party called for the release of those detained, whom it described as activists, including Öneren, stating that protesting NATO or criticizing the alliance's policies is not a crime.
Reporters Without Borders Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu described Tar's detention as arbitrary. In a post on the X platform, Önderoğlu said, "An international summit does not justify the detention of our colleague on security grounds. She must be released!"
NATO Summit and Security Measures
The NATO summit will take place on July 7-8 at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. Officials announced heightened security measures ahead of the summit, including a 13-day ban on meetings, demonstrations, and related events from June 28 to July 10.
Turkey last hosted a NATO leaders' summit in Istanbul in 2004. At that time, large anti-NATO and anti-Bush protests were met with heavy security measures, summit zones were sealed off, a no-fly zone was declared, and dozens of detentions followed clashes.
