Turkey: EU Greens condemn 1000 arrests of opposition members, protesters and journalists 

The European Green Party condemns the Erdoğan government’s escalating repression as the number of arrests of opposition members, protesters, and journalists has surpassed 1,000.  

The Journalists' Union of Turkey has reported that a number of journalists who covered the protests were detained at dawn on Monday (24 March).  

Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party, stated: “The EU must take a firm stance against Erdoğan’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protest.  It is time to end the political persecution, police violence, and massive suppression of press freedom. We call on EU Vice-President Kaja Kallas to pick up the phone to President Erdoğan and tell him to release all those unlawfully arrested.” 

Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Green Party, added: “Since the arrest of İmamoğlu, the situation in Turkey has deteriorated.  Such blatant attacks on democracy, civil liberties and the rule of law cannot be left unanswered.The European Union must stand firmly against this authoritarianism and take swift, appropriate measures. We stand in complete solidarity with those in Turkey fighting for democracy and human rights.” 

The arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu (pictured) the Mayor of Istanbul and a leading opposition figure, has sparked mass protests across the country. Though overwhelmingly peaceful, they have been met with police violence, alongside mass arrests of more than a thousand opposition politicians, lawyers, students and journalists.

Opposition party CHP has stated that more than 13 million of non-CHP members have cast a solidarity vote in their open primaries on Sunday (23 March). This represents approximately a quarter of all voters in Turkey. 

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