Turkey arrests surge ahead of NATO summit

ISTANBUL, Turkey: The number of people jailed pending trial on terrorism-related charges in Turkey rose to 178 ahead of a NATO summit in the capital Ankara, state media reported on Saturday, citing the prosecutor’s office.

The detentions followed a series of anti-terror raids this week in the run-up to the July 7–8 summit, which is expected to be attended by 32 leaders including US President Donald Trump.

State-run Anadolu news agency said 178 of 225 suspects taken into custody were formally arrested, citing a statement from the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office. It said 34 others were released under judicial supervision.

The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a legal rights group, said on Friday those detained included journalists, academics, lawyers, trade unionists, teachers, students and civil society representatives.

Among those placed in pre-trial detention were Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of LGBTQ-focused journal Kaos GL, Ankara University academic Emel Memis, and Nevzat Ozer of the TEMA Foundation, a leading environmental NGO, along with several of its volunteers.

MLSA said that during police questioning, environmental volunteers were asked whether they were members of the banned Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML), whether they used code names, and whether they had received armed training.