Türkiye Detains 209 as Ankara Tightens NATO Summit Security
By Bosphorus News Türkiye Desk
Türkiye detained 209 people in Ankara on June 23 after prosecutors issued warrants for 241 suspects in anti-terror investigations, adding a disputed policing file to the capital's security build-up before the July 7-8 NATO Summit.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office tied the warrants to separate investigations into Islamic State and several far-left organizations, including the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) and the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML). Police and gendarmerie teams carried out the operations across the capital, with the remaining suspects still being sought.
The prosecutor's office did not describe the raids as a NATO Summit operation. The timing placed the case inside a wider security tightening in Ankara, where the governor's office has already ordered a 13-day ban on public gatherings and demonstrations from June 28 to July 10.
The Ankara Governor's Office said the restrictions were adopted for summit security and public order. The measures cover public meetings, marches, press statements, sit-ins, hunger strikes, protests, rallies, stands, tents, leaflets, posters and banners across the province. Drone flights will also be banned without governor's office authorization.
The NATO meeting will be held at the Beştepe Presidential Compound, with leaders of the 32-member alliance expected in Ankara. The summit has already reshaped the capital's security map, from hotel zones and official routes to aviation planning, including the reopening of Ankara Airport as a second summit traffic hub before the July 7-8 meeting.
Rights groups and opposition figures challenged the scope of the operation, saying it also targeted leftist politicians, lawyers, activists and journalist Yıldız Tar. Reuters and the Associated Press reported those claims separately, while Turkish authorities presented the detentions as part of anti-terror investigations.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) criticized the detentions and the summit restrictions, saying Ankara was being turned into a closed security zone before NATO leaders arrive. Lawyers' groups separately said some detainees had been restricted from immediate legal access, adding a legal-rights dispute to the case.
Türkiye regularly conducts operations against Islamic State, which carried out deadly attacks in the country between 2015 and 2017, including the 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting. Turkish authorities also pursue far-left organizations including DHKP-C, which has been linked to armed attacks and assassinations in Türkiye.
The Ankara summit has already brought traffic controls, venue restrictions and public-sector adjustments across the capital. The detentions add a domestic policing dispute to a summit file shaped by official route controls, delegation security and wider restrictions on public activity.
The 13-day public-event ban begins on June 28 and runs until 23:59 on July 10. Authorities said unauthorized people and vehicles will be kept away from sensitive summit areas, delegation hotels and official routes while police continue efforts to locate the remaining suspects.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, Ankara Governor's Office, Bosphorus News review and reporting.