Dozens detained over calls for unauthorized May Day protests in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Istanbul police on April 29 conducted a counterterrorism operation ahead of May 1 Labor Day, detaining 76 suspects accused of disseminating calls for unauthorized demonstrations on the day.
This year, labor unions and workers’ organizations declared their intention to mark May Day in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district amid an ongoing prohibition on gatherings in Taksim Square.
According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, however, certain terrorist organizations issued calls for assembly in and around Taksim Square, “seeking to exploit the symbolic significance of Labor and Solidarity Day for organizational propaganda purposes.”
Individuals affiliated with terrorist-linked structures might attempt to incite public unrest and orchestrate unsanctioned demonstrations on May 1, potentially engaging in coordinated acts of violence, including stone and stick assaults targeting law enforcement personnel, the office said.
As part of ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist networks, operations were launched to apprehend a total of 84 suspects.
Of these, 76 individuals were apprehended and numerous items — including digital storage devices and documents — were confiscated during the raids.
During last year’s May Day demonstrations, police intervened at multiple points across Istanbul to prevent marchers from reaching Taksim, resulting in the detention of 210 individuals.
In a separate operation conducted on the same day on April 29, suspects affiliated with far-left extremist groups — namely DHKP/C, MLKP and TKP/ML — were also targeted.
Detention warrants were issued for 21 individuals. Authorities determined that two suspects were abroad, while another two were already arrested on separate charges. The pursuit of fugitives remains ongoing.
In another investigation spearheaded by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, three individuals identified as operatives within the substructure of the DHKP/C terrorist group — specifically active in the musical-political collective Grup Yorum — were also subjected to warrants.
Counterterrorism units subsequently detained two of the suspects, seizing digital data and documents during searches of their premises.
