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Mayors, journalists, activists among 231 detained in anti-terror raids across Turkey

Detained journalist Erdoğan Alayumat (Photo: X)

Turkish authorities have detained 231 individuals including mayors, journalists, activists allegedly linked to the terrorist organizations as part of a series of coordinated raids across 30 provinces, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Tuesday.

Authorities have accused the detainees of conducting political and media activities on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD) or the People’s Defense Units (YPG); financing terrorism; spreading propaganda on social media and participating in illegal protests causing damage to public property. Officials also reported confiscating unlicensed firearms, hunting rifles, blank-firing guns and digital material.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. It has conducted an armed insurgency since the 1980s, advocating for Kurdish rights and autonomy. The KCK is an umbrella group associated with the PKK, overseeing its political and military structures. The PYD is the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, while the YPG serves as its armed wing and has been a key player in the Syrian civil war. Turkish authorities have long targeted these groups in domestic and cross-border operations.

Among those detained were journalists, activists, and labor union leaders. The list of journalists includes Erdoğan Alayumat, Tuğçe Yılmaz, Bilge Aksu, Ahmet Sünbül, Roza Metina (president of the Mesopotamian Women Journalists Association), Bilal Seçkin, Mehmet Ücar and Suzan Demir. Others detained include translator-director Ardin Diren, cartoonist Doğan Güzel, poet and writer Hicri İzgören, translator and writer Ömer Barasi and publishing coordinator Baver Yoldaş.

The Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association confirmed the detention of its president, Roza Metina, in Diyarbakır. Authorities also detained Kayapınar district co-mayor Cengiz Dündar and Nimet Tanrıkulu, a founding member of the Human Rights Association.

In Adana, police detained Remzi Çalışkan, deputy chair of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) and Kemal Göksoy, its regional representative, during pre-dawn raids.

“Union activity is not a crime! We demand the immediate release of our deputy chair and regional representative,” DİSK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu said on X. “We will not bow to unlawfulness.

Additional detentions reported by the Mezopotamya News Agency included Hevidar Taş, Serhat Aktaş, Arif Elban and Arife Elban, reportedly linked to protests against government-appointed trustees replacing elected officials.

Minister Yerlikaya defended the raids, emphasizing the government’s commitment to eradicating terrorism. “We will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized,” the minister said, describing the operations as vital to ensuring public safety and stability.

However, human rights organizations and media groups criticized the detentions, arguing that they targeted dissent and freedom of expression.

“The free press is targeted because it fights to reveal the truth. These efforts to silence the truth have failed in the past and will fail again,” the Dicle-Fırat Journalist Association said on the social media platform X. “We do not accept the detentions, and we demand the immediate release of all journalists. Journalism is not a crime.”

Turkey frequently accuses Kurdish dissidents, journalists and activists of links to the PKK and other Kurdish groups it deems terrorist organizations. Critics argue, however, that such accusations are often used as a pretext to silence dissent and suppress political opposition. International human rights groups have repeatedly expressed concern over Turkey’s expansive definition of terrorism, which they claim leads to the criminalization of legitimate political and civil society activities.

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