Turkish police in Istanbul violently cracked down on a rally against the May Day demonstration ban. At least 33 people were taken into custody, including MA (Mezopotamya Agency) reporter Muhammet Enes Sezgin, JinNews reporter Sena Dolar and Kızıl Bayrak reporter Kardelen Yoğungan.

As part of the rally, it was planned to read a statement on the occasion of the ban on May Day demonstrations. For this purpose, numerous illegally dismissed workers gathered in front of the SML factory in the Avcılar district. The former employees of the factory, together with former workers of the household appliance manufacturer Sinbo, have been protesting for months against their politically motivated dismissals and unpaid leaves of absence, which are justified with "violations of rules for morality and good will," the so-called Code-29. All those affected are united by the commonality that they are unionized. Unions and their members who do not toe the government line are regularly targeted by Turkey's ruling AKP party.

Attacks on workers' actions

In Istanbul, protests against the ban on May Day rallies had already been attacked by police last week. Previously, several activists from the BMG (tr. Birleşik Mücadele Güçleri - United Resistance Forces) alliance had been detained while putting up posters in Ankara.