In the early hours of July 1, Turkish police raided the campsite where the youth camp of the World Anti-Imperialist Youth Platform was being held and detained the participating youth activists. Lawyers in Türkiye are currently meeting with the detained comrades to determine the exact grounds for their detention and the legal procedures that will follow.
The youth camp was taking place in a small coastal city approximately seven hours from Istanbul. The program consisted primarily of internal meetings among participants, with no public events or distribution of political materials. The camp was not being held in Ankara, where the NATO Summit is taking place, but in a distant location, and the raid occurred one week before the summit. The violent suppression of a strictly internal gathering with no public activities represents an unprecedented act of political repression, not only in Türkiye but by international standards.
Lawyers’ associations and anti-imperialist organizations in many countries have already issued statements condemning the arrests and have begun organizing protest actions.
We respectfully urge your party to demonstrate international solidarity by issuing a statement condemning these detentions, delivering a letter of protest and making protest calls to the Turkish Embassy, and organizing demonstrations demanding the immediate release of the detained comrades.
World Anti-imperialist Platform
World Anti-imperialist Youth Platform
