Mehmet Acettin, a human rights defender and one of the owners of the Etkin News Agency (ETHA), was detained this morning during a police raid on his home.
The detention was carried out as part of an investigation launched against the Marksist Teori magazine.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office alleged that the magazine, operating under the Varyos Gazetecilik company, was used as a front to finance the outlawed armed group Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).
Arrest warrants were issued for three other individuals as part of the investigation. Among them, ETHA editor Nadiye Gürbüz gave her statement via videoconference from the Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison, where she is currently incarcerated.
Tülin Gür and Hüseyin Dağdeviren, the current and former managing editors of the Atılım newspaper and Marksist Teori magazine, are the other individuals facing warrants.
Acettin was previously detained during an operation against socialist groups on Feb 3, and was later released under house arrest.
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
13 December 2024
Background
Police carried out raids against socialists in 22 provinces on the morning of Feb 3, 2026.
The operation targeted various organizations and institutions, including the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF), the Socialist Women's Councils (SKM), the Kaktüs Young Women's Association, the Limter-İş Union affiliated with DİSK, the High School Student Union (LÖB), Polen Ecology, the Science Education Aesthetic Culture Art Research Foundation (BEKSAV), the Law Office of the Oppressed (EHB), and ETHA.
The prosecutor's office alleged that these institutions and organizations belong to the MLKP structure. More than 100 people were detained during the house raids. Approximately 80 people remain under arrest on allegations of "membership in an organization" and "making organization propaganda."
Individuals whose indictments have been prepared have stood trial. Berfin Polat, the co-chair of the SGDF, and Cemre Nayir, the head of the Polen Ecology Association, appeared before a judge in recent weeks and were released during their first hearing.
(HA/VK)
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TR