As many as 40 people were detained during house raids conducted by the Turkish police in the early morning hours of January 21. The operations took place in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Eskişehir, Yalova and Amed (tr: Diyarbakır) on the instructions of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The operation was directed against members and executives of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Socialist Women's Assemblies (SKM) and Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF).

The detainees include ESP Co-Chair Hatice Deniz Aktaş, SKM Spokesperson Tanya Kara, SGDF Co-Chair Berfin Polat, ESP Central Executive Board (MYK) members Okan Danacı and Uğur Ok, ESP Party Assembly member Ezgi Gürbüz, ESP Sultangazi District Co-Chairs Gamze Toprak and Erol Tunç, ESP Esenyurt Representative Cafer Erözsoy, SKM Istanbul Provincial Spokesperson Leyla Can, SKM General Assembly member Dilara Su Kalpak, SGDF MYK members Hivda Selen, Simay Ada Kart and Adnan Özcan, United Workers Movement Spokesperson Meliha Kayacı, Bağlar Municipality Council member Muhammed Altunkaya, Revolutionary Party PM member Yakup Bulut and ETHA reporter Züleyha Müldür.

ESP, SKM and SGDF organised a demonstration in front of Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy to protest the detention of socialists. The police blockaded the crowd even before the protest started and detained more than 40 people under torture.

The protest demonstration was also supported by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Istanbul MPs Çiçek Otlu and Kezban Konukçu, as well as representatives of many political parties and organizations.

The crowd and passers-by protested the detentions and chanted the slogan “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism”, while the police tried to prevent reporters from taking pictures.