- Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar was detained in home raids in Ankara on June 23, ahead of the NATO summit, and was later jailed pending trial after appearing in court.
- In the prosecutor's request for his arrest, authorities argued that the suspects could carry out a terrorist attack "in an effort to portray Turkey as a country associated with terrorism."
Oğulcan Özgenç
As part of an investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, authorities detained a total of 209 people in a series of operations. Tar was among numerous journalists, academics, lawyers, trade unionists and human rights defenders taken into custody on June 25.
Because of his detention, Tar was unable to attend a court hearing in a separate case in which he is being tried as part of an investigation into the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK).
After police and prosecutorial procedures were completed, Tar was transferred to the Ankara Courthouse. According to available information, he was not questioned about NATO during his statement. Instead, he was asked about his remarks regarding the government's declared "Year of the Family" policies.
The prosecutor referred Tar to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace, requesting his pretrial detention. In the referral document, prosecutors argued that the suspects could carry out a terrorist attack "in an effort to portray Turkey as a country associated with terrorism." The court subsequently ordered Tar's pretrial detention.
In a message conveyed through his lawyers after giving his statement, Tar said:
"It seems they have made it their mission to find me a new organization every year. But both my journalism and my LGBTQ+ activism are completely out in the open. We prevented the 12th Judicial Package from passing, yet this time they acted as if it had already been enacted and added us to its package detention list. Our dignity is greater than any package. I thank everyone who has shown solidarity, especially the LGBTQ+ movement, the feminist movement, the human rights movement and journalism professional organizations."
What happened?
Ahead of the NATO Summit scheduled to be held in Ankara on July 7-8, authorities detained numerous people in early morning home raids on June 23. Those taken into custody included Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar, Umut-Sen spokesperson Burcu Arıkan, Halkevleri Central Executive Board member Hediye Yıldırım, Associate Professor Emel Memiş of the Department of Economics at Ankara University's Faculty of Political Sciences, and Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) member lawyers Semra Demir, Kürşat Bafra and Doğa İncesu. Elif Torun Öneren, chair of the Revolutionary Party, who was also the subject of a detention warrant, was not detained due to her health condition.
As part of the operation, volunteers from the TEMA Foundation were also detained. According to available information, about 40 volunteers returning from a trip to the Nallıhan Bird Sanctuary got off their bus after seeing workers from Doruk Mining marching toward Ankara and greeted them. The bus was later stopped, and the volunteers were subjected to identity checks before being detained. During police questioning, the TEMA volunteers were asked whether they were members of the TKP/ML, whether they used code names, and whether they had received armed training.
