Early this morning, a large-scale police operation was launched against the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), which consists of civil institutions representing various social groups. The homes of 52 individuals, including executives of HDK-affiliated parties such as DBP, EMEP, SYKP, ESP and the Green-Left Party, as well as journalists, advocates and artists, were raided at their homes, and they were taken into custody.

In a statement about the operation, Ebru Günay and Berdan Öztürk, Co-Spokespersons of the DEM Party Foreign Affairs Commission, said the following:

“Undoubtedly, this operation is part of the political engineering intervention carried out by the AKP government through judicial institutions. The judiciary in Turkey has been transformed into a structure that prioritizes the interests of the government rather than justice, as seen in the appointment of trustees to municipalities, the numerous lawsuits filed against opposition politicians, and the silencing of media outlets. In the local elections, the Urban Consensus strategy was implemented in Istanbul's metropolitan and district municipalities, achieving significant success against the AKP. HDK has been a crucial force behind the Urban Consensus. For this reason, the government is attempting to portray this entirely civil and social initiative as a "criminal act" through judicial means, and in this context, it is threatening HDK and its components with baseless accusations and imprisonment.

Just as civil platforms are an indispensable element of democracy in democratic systems, especially in Europe, institutions formed by different political and social groups in Turkey are also fundamental to democratic progress in the country. The AKP government now considers freedom of organization, one of the most basic principles of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, as a "terrorist activity," leading to the criminalization of every opposition initiative through the judiciary. In other words, a continuous coup practice is being carried out against the opposition in Turkey.

All democratic forces in Turkey will continue their legitimate struggle without compromise to put an end to this form of governance, which has turned Turkey into a center of regional instability. We call on the international community to be more sensitive to the anti-democratic practices in Turkey and to stand in solidarity with the democratic forces in the country.”