Turkey: Police Storm Headquarters of the Republican People's Party by Court Order

SadaNews - Hundreds of Turkish riot police stormed the headquarters of the opposition Republican People's Party in Ankara on Sunday, using tear gas, following a court order to remove its elected leadership.

 

Party members closed the building's entrances, defying the court decision issued on Thursday as part of an official investigation into Turkey's largest opposition party.

Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday that the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is undermining Turkish democracy with "abusive methods" against the party. It considered the court decision to be "the latest deeply damaging blow to the rule of law, democracy, and human rights."

The court ruling issued on Thursday annulled the victory of the party's chairman, Özgür Özel, in the 2023 internal elections, appointing former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as its interim leader.

After Özel confirmed on Sunday in a social media post stating "We will not leave the place", the police forced him to do so. He affirmed upon his exit that "the Republican People's Party will now be in the streets and squares".

Özel said on Sunday, "They stormed our headquarters, used tear gas, beat us with truncheons, looted the party building, and expelled us from it".

He added that Erdoğan has "lost his mind," considering the attack part of the President's maneuvers "to win the upcoming elections" scheduled for 2028.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is affiliated with the Republican People's Party, has been imprisoned for over a year on corruption charges he denies. He is considered a leading potential rival to Erdoğan in the upcoming presidential elections in 2028.

Özel said, "Just as Erdoğan imprisoned the presidential candidate who could have defeated him, he has now officially closed the political party that could defeat him as well."

He added, "Turkey has stopped being a modern democratic republic and has turned into an authoritarian regime."

After being expelled from the party building, Özel walked several kilometers in the rain towards the parliament, surrounded by his supporters.

A similar incident occurred in Istanbul last year when the courts appointed an administrative official to take over the offices of the People's Party in the city, which serves as Turkey's economic capital.