Turkey Declines to Guarantee Free Speech Protections for COP31 Participants as Arrests of Activists Trigger Alarm

Turkey declines to guarantee free speech protections for COP31 participants as arrests of activists trigger alarm

Levent Kenez/Stockholm The mass detentions of environmental volunteers ahead of the July 7-8 NATO summit in Ankara are raising critical questions over civil liberties, protest rights and diplomatic guarantees as Turkey prepares to host the United Nations COP31 climate conference in the southern city of Antalya, from November 9 to 20, 2026. Opposition lawmakers formally confronted government officials during a July 16 meeting of the Turkish Parli…

Turkey detained at least 668 in NATO summit crackdown, jailed 179: report - Stockholm Center for Freedom

At least 668 people were detained across Turkey in raids and protests surrounding NATO’s July 7-8 summit in Ankara, while 179 were jailed pending trial in the largest investigation, according to a report by a lawyers’ group affiliated with the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), Turkish Minute reported. In a review of measures taken before and during the summit, Lawyers for Justice accused the Turkish government of exceeding the principle of proport…

Turkey detained at least 668 in NATO summit crackdown, jailed 179: report - Turkish Minute

At least 668 people were detained across Turkey in raids and protests surrounding NATO’s July 7-8 summit in Ankara, while 179 were jailed pending trial in the largest investigation, according to a report by a lawyers’ group affiliated with the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP).