Observatory Alert: Erdoğan Detains & Expels International Observers

On Sunday, May 14, delegations from several Spanish political parties and members of civil society, who had traveled to Turkey to follow and accompany the election day, visited Siirt, a city located in the east of the country. These delegations included a deputy from EH Bildu, one from Unidas Podemos, a senator from Esquerra, a representative of the International Secretariat of Podemos and several members of civil society.

During election day, several of the people who were part of this delegation were detained by the Turkish police and sent to the city police station. After the closing of the polls, and while the counting of the votes continued throughout the night, police were also present at the hotel where the delegation was staying, transferring the rest of the delegation to the same police station. 

These people remained in custody all night, not knowing the reasons for which they were being detained. Likewise, several members of the Kurdish YSP party (whose lists include members of the HDP) have been detained in the last few hours and their official observation exercise has been obstructed by the Erdogan government.

On Monday, May 15, the members of these delegations were finally escorted by the Turkish police from Siirt to Istanbul, where they were able to meet and be accompanied by the staff of the Spanish Embassy in Turkey and embarked on their return. The detainees are now in European territory. It is unacceptable that the Government of Turkey held for hours, against their will, without explanation or under unfounded charges, more than a dozen people, including several public officials, for having accompanied election day. They were finally released on the condition that they immediately leave the country. 

This new and intolerable example of repression demonstrates the authoritarian drift of the Erdogan regime, which undermines democratic principles and the fundamental rights of Turkish citizens and, especially, of the peoples present in this territory, such as the Kurds. 

Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40936968