Letter from 14 organizations to the Secretary-General Mark Rutte regarding accreditations, mass arrests and bans on demonstrations that are causing international concern.
The tension surrounding the upcoming NATO in Ankara is escalating, as journalists’ associations and human rights organizations denounce a climate of heightened repression, widespread restrictions, and a lack of transparency that directly undermines press freedom. The security framework imposed by the Turkish authorities, combined with mass arrests and the ban on public gatherings, is creating a volatile political landscape ahead of the high-level international meeting, while the debate has now shifted to whether an alliance that champions Western democratic values can ensure in practice unimpeded journalistic coverage and transparency in such a high-stakes host environment.
Journalistic organizations are calling on NATO to take a stand against the controversial security measures implemented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Reactions
Turkey will host the NATO summit on July 7–8 in Ankara, with Donald Trump leaving open the possibility of attending.
The security measures implemented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government have already sparked a variety of reactions, with journalists and activists calling on NATO to take steps to protect individual freedoms as well as ensure unimpeded media coverage of the summit.
Mass arrests in Turkey and a ban on demonstrations
Mass arrests took place on Tuesday, after the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 241 people. A total of 209 people were arrested.
The Ankara Prosecutor’s Office announced that 241 arrest warrants had been issued and that 209 people had been arrested. Prosecutors reported that 56 of those arrested are alleged to be members of the “Islamic State” and 35 were members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), a communist organization designated as a terrorist group by the Turkish government.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch reported that among the detainees are political activists, lawyers, an academic, and a journalist who is a prominent LGBTQI rights activist.
The Ankara municipality has banned public gatherings, exams, press conferences, and the posting of posters starting Sunday, while deploying 40,000 police officers in the capital.
Journalists complain that they were not granted accreditation
A major issue has also arisen regarding the rejection of applications from journalists seeking to cover the NATO summit.
Uraz Kaspar, a journalist and member of the National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI), said that “dozens” of independent Turkish journalists were denied accreditation without any explanation.
NATO spokesperson: The Alliance relies on the host country
NATO spokesperson Alison Hart stated on Thursday that the Alliance “relies on the host country to assess journalists from its own country.” NATO “is in contact with the Turkish authorities regarding accreditation.”
“It is very important for NATO that the media be able to be physically present at important events,” she added.
However, activists accuse the Alliance of shirking its responsibilities. “Although NATO relies on the host country’s assessments, this does not absolve the Alliance of its responsibility to uphold its own standards,” Kaspar said. “Every journalist whose application has been rejected is entitled to receive a clear, specific, and transparent explanation for that rejection.”
Letter from 14 organizations to the NATO Secretary General
On Friday, the IPI, together with 14 press freedom organizations, a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, calling on the Alliance to reconsider the accreditations.
Ben Ward, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe division, stated that “NATO officials must make it clear that an alliance based on professed shared values—such as democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, cannot under any circumstances condone the Turkish authorities’ highly repressive stance in the run-up to the summit.”
NATO officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, are expressing concern
The summit “must not be used as a pretext for repression,” a NATO diplomat told Politico.
“We are closely monitoring these developments and regularly raising these issues in our bilateral contacts,” added another senior NATO diplomat. Both were granted anonymity so they could speak freely.
The same report states that the Alliance is in contact with Turkish officials to encourage the neighboring country to review the list of accreditations, according to a person familiar with the matter.
