PodcastTurkey marks Labor Day amid police violence, detentions once again
Struggling to make the ends meet due to non-stoppable inflation and deteriorating economic crisis, Turkish citizens have demanded better working conditions and fair wages on May 1, Labor Day. The day once again saw the detention of scores of citizens who wanted to march towards Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Turkey has celebrated the May 1 Labor Day amid police violence and detentions once again. Istanbul police early on May 1 set up barricades to prevent people from marching towards the iconic Taksim Square and detained several for attempting to defy the ban and hold a rally.
Journalists who wanted to photograph and take images of the protestors were also detained and beaten.
DİSK Basın-İş, a trade union for journalists, reported that journalist Zeynep Kuray was detained, while Sultan Eylem Keleş, Gencer Keten, and Hazar Dost were subjected to police violence.
1 Mayıs'a engellemelerle başladık:
— DİSK Basın-İş (@Disk_Basin_is) May 1, 2023
Beşiktaş'ta haber takibi yapan üyemiz Zeynep Kuray gözaltına alındı. Üyemiz Eylem Sultan Keleş ve Gencer Keten darp edildi. Polisin basına karşı sistematik müdahalesine karşı mücadelemiz sürecek.Gözaltılar serbest bırakılsın, engellemelere son! pic.twitter.com/5vM07wA4Ka
In 2010, the Istanbul Governor’s Office allowed the May 1 rally to take place at Taksim Square, for the first time in 32 years. However, the rally was banned in 2013 on the grounds of pedestrianization project.