The Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that the personal liberty and security as well as the rights to peaceful assembly and demonstration of three people arrested during protests held in Saraçhane on May 1, 2024, were violated. The court stated that the arrests of the applicants, who were detained for 58 days, were unlawful, expressing that they were arrested for participating in a peaceful demonstration and therefore their rights were violated. AYM ordered a total compensation payment of 300,000 TL to the applicants. Some dissenting members argued that the protest was not within the scope of a peaceful action.
Meanwhile, despite the AYM decision, the Istanbul Governorship did not allow the May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day to be celebrated in Taksim Square. Hundreds of people gathered in Saraçhane wanted to march to Taksim but faced police barricades and intervention. The police intervened using tear gas and plastic bullets, and 226 people were detained. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the number of detainees was 226 nationwide. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also participated in the events in Saraçhane.
These developments have brought the debates between the right to peaceful demonstration and public order in Turkey back to the agenda.