The statement draws attention to the restrictions placed on meetings with lawyers during detention processes and the remoteness of the allegations forming the basis of the detentions from the rule of law principle, and it states that these practices create pressure on the freedoms of association and expression. The STGM Board of Directors called on all public authorities to act in compliance with the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.
The full statement is as follows:
We are following with concern the detentions and arrests taking place in Ankara ahead of the NATO Summit to be held on July 7-8, 2026.
The detention on June 23 of numerous well-known individuals — including Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar, feminist economist and Ankara University Faculty of Political Science lecturer Assoc. Prof. Emel Memiş, TEMA Foundation Ankara representative Nevzat Özer, foundation volunteers, as well as journalists, academics, lawyers, political party and association members — along with the imposition of a 24-hour restriction on access to a lawyer during detention, and the subsequent successive arrests, constitute practices that undermine the right to defense. These detentions—which cause serious concern with regard to the rule of law—and the fact that those subjected to arrest and house arrest are people from various civil society activities, point not only to violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individuals concerned, but also to a severe attempt to suppress the freedoms of association and expression across Turkey.
Additionally, when considered together with other restrictions on rights — such as accreditation limitations imposed on newspapers and journalists, the expected restrictions on freedom of assembly, expression, and association during the Summit week as announced in Ankara — it is clear that criticisms of the Summit being instrumentalized as a means to suppress fundamental rights and freedoms are well-founded.
On the other hand, as understood from statements reflected in the public domain, the highly subjective assessments in the prosecutor’s referral for detention, such as the claim that the suspects are “capable of carrying out acts of terror in an effort to label Turkey as a country associated with terrorism,” serve as examples of the instrumentalization of the law and violate the most basic principles of fair trial.
Foreseeing the possibility that these practices could become standard after the Summit, we would like to emphasize that in a democratic society, the right to information, the right to liberty and security, the right to defense, the right to a fair trial, and the presumption of innocence must be guaranteed under all circumstances.
We call on all public authorities to act in accordance with the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.
STGM Association Board of Directors
June 26, 2026