Turkey detains dozens of suspects in Ankara ahead of NATO summit – critics speak of intimidation

The Turkish government justified the operations with anti-terror investigations. „Der Einsatz sei demnach gegen den Jugendflügel einer verbotenen linken Gruppe gerichtet gewesen“, Anadolu wrote. The operations took place on Sunday, two days before the start of the NATO summit planned for July 7 and 8 in the Turkish capital. The government had stepped up its security measures ahead of the NATO summit on July 7 and 8.

Government's justification

Critics, however, say the operations were aimed at preventing protests. According to media reports, those detained include journalists, academics, and members of leftist groups. According to human rights groups, more than 200 people were detained in late June ahead of the summit – including academics, lawyers, trade unionists, students, journalists, and civil society representatives.

Among those detained was also Buse Sötüglü, head of the foreign news desk of the broadcaster T24, as well as Oda-TV journalist Ceren Erdogdu, who, according to reports from those close to her, was arrested at her home and taken into police custody. Police gave no reason for the arrests. The Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC) and the Progressive Lawyers' Association (CHD) demanded on the platform X that the detained journalists be released. They described the arrests as a violation of press freedom and called the raids an attempt to intimidate opposition voices ahead of the NATO meeting.

Criticism from journalists and lawyers

Several opposition-critical media outlets had also reportedly not received accreditation for the summit by deadline. Representatives of opposition Turkish media had complained shortly before the meeting about not being accredited. According to the organization Engelli Web, the petition site „Nato'ya Hayir" (No to NATO) had previously been blocked citing national security and public order; a few weeks before the summit, the site „NatoDefol" (NATO, get out) had also been blocked for the same reasons.

Sötüglü's lawyer Erman Öztürk told AFP that he assumed the arrests were connected to the NATO summit. The apparent aim was to „Demokraten, Linke und die Presse einzuschüchtern". The CHD said the chair of its Istanbul branch, Ezgi Önalan, had been taken into police custody and her home searched; several of her clients had also been detained. News agencies also reported that 100 people were arrested in Ankara on Sunday for participating in a demonstration against the NATO summit organized by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP).

Further arrests and detainees

In addition, Turkish stand-up comedian Deniz Göktas was arrested and imprisoned on charges of insulting Islam and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan is identified in the facts as the Turkish president. Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been in custody since March 2025, according to the reports. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the court-appointed chair of the Turkish opposition party CHP, criticized the suppression of protests in an X post addressed to Erdogan: „Nicht die Existenz von Demonstrationen schadet dem Ansehen eines Landes, sondern die Unterdrückung des Rechts auf demokratischen Protest".

The arrests in the provinces took place across several parts of the country on Sunday, according to the opposition-critical newspaper Cumhuriyet. „Dozens of people were arrested during the operations in multiple Turkish provinces on Sunday", the agency report said. The RSF Turkey office described the operations ahead of the summit as „blinden, willkürlichen und ungeordneten Einsätzen" and said they endangered the reputation and safety of journalists.

Reaction from NATO leadership

The Turkish Journalists' Association TGC and the Progressive Lawyers' Association CHD demanded the immediate release of those affected. Supporters of Imamoglu called on Turkey's partners not to reduce the rule of law to a „bloßen Fußnote" during the summit security consultations in Ankara; strategic importance cannot replace democratic legitimacy.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gave an evasive response when asked by a journalist about the arrests. Rutte emphasized the importance of press freedom and freedom of assembly, according to the facts. „Demokratie ist mehr als freie Wahlen", Rutte said. And of course democracy also means that people can organize demonstrations if they want to. „Demokratie seien auch die freien Medien", Rutte stated. The journalist had asked Rutte about the measures against opposition figures and journalists, whether Ankara was the appropriate venue for a meeting of liberal democracies, and whether the heads of state and government should raise these issues with Erdogan.

Political context in Turkey

Turkish authorities reportedly imposed sweeping bans on demonstrations around the NATO summit in Ankara. The heads of state and government of the 32 NATO member states are expected at the summit, including US President Donald Trump. The article was produced by the dpa news agency and attributed to APA, dated 7/6/2026.