The HDP Istanbul branch has issued a statement calling for the immediate release of those who were detained during May Day demonstrations in Istanbul.

“The policies of the AKP government hostile to the workers have once again been revealed by the brutal attacks on 1 May”, said the HDP, recalling that thousands of people took to the streets on May Day in protest at the ban on Taksim square, and that they were brutally attacked by the police. HDP said that among the detainees, who were violently treated, is also an HDP candidate from Istanbul, Salih Şahin, and added that Şahin was detained after being beaten by the police. 

HDP stressed that Taksim square cannot be banned for May Day demonstrations in its statement and called for the immediate release of all those detained during the demonstrations, including its candidate Salih Şahin.