Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, has described scenes at the İstanbul provincial headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Monday as “surreal,” after police used tear gas to escort a court-appointed trustee into the building, Turkish Minute reported.
On Monday Gürsel Tekin, a longtime CHP figure appointed last week by an İstanbul court as head of a caretaker board, entered the building under police escort. His arrival sparked scuffles both with police and with rival groups of CHP members. Officers used tear gas, and an Agence France-Presse correspondent reported several people fainted and required treatment in ambulances. Between 10 and 20 people were detained on site.
“Crackdown on democracy in Turkey is a relentless [and] sadly sophisticated machinery,” Amor wrote on X on Monday, commenting on the developments.
“A court illegitimately decides who chairs a political party; after using tear gas, riot police escorts in the impostor. … It’s surreal,” he added.
The İstanbul Governor’s Office imposed a ban on demonstrations in six central districts until September 10, citing the court order that removed the provincial leadership. Police blocked roads leading to the CHP office in İstanbul’s Şişli district, preventing even CHP lawmakers from entering the premises.
Meanwhile, access to major platforms remained restricted into Monday. NetBlocks confirmed throttling of X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp across multiple networks, beginning around 23:45 local time Sunday.
The CHP leadership responded by closing its İstanbul headquarters altogether, designating the seized building as party chairman Özgür Özel’s local office and reporting a new provincial address to authorities.
The turmoil stems from a September 2 ruling by the İstanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance, which annulled the CHP’s 2023 provincial congress and removed chairman Özgür Çelik and his team, appointing a caretaker board led by Tekin. Some appointees declined the role, but Tekin vowed to assume his duties, prompting the party to expel him.
The İstanbul developments precede a September 15 hearing in Ankara that could annul the CHP’s November 2023 national congress, potentially stripping Özel of his chairmanship. Özel has rejected the courts’ jurisdiction, calling the campaign a “judicial coup.”
Amor had already voiced alarm on September 2, when the İstanbul court annulled the CHP’s provincial congress and appointed Tekin as trustee. At the time, he warned on X that the ruling was “terrible news,” saying it appeared to pave the way for a similar move against the party congress that elected Özel. Such a step, he cautioned, would amount to “the nail in the coffin of Turkish multiparty democracy.”
The CHP, buoyed by its victories in the 2024 local elections and rising poll numbers, has faced a wave of prosecutions since March, when İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was jailed. At least 15 CHP mayors are currently in jail on corruption or terrorism-linked charges that rights groups say are politically motivated.
