Two local leaders of a major labor union were arrested Monday in Turkey’s western city of İzmir after participating in demonstrations protesting the jailing of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, local media reported.
İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges widely criticized as politically motivated. Dozens of other opposition politicians including senior city officials were also arrested as part of the same investigation and other probes that have been targeting CHP-run municipalities for about nine months.
İmamoğlu’s arrest, seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in decades.
Eight officials from the DİSK-affiliated Genel-İş union were initially detained for participating in the protests in İzmir. While six were released after questioning, Deniz Şahin Gümüştekin, head of the union’s No. 8 İzmir branch, and Mine Bilir, head of the women’s commission of the union’s No. 3 branch, were referred to court and formally arrested. They face charges of “insulting the president” due to slogans chanted during the protests.
In a statement released on social media, the union condemned the arrests, calling them unlawful.
“The right to assembly and demonstration is a constitutional right, not a crime. Our branch president and women’s commission chair are not alone. … We demand their immediate release,” the union said.
Şube Başkanımız Serbest Bırakılsın!
Demokrasiyi, adaleti ve hukuku savunan İzmir 8 No’lu Şube Başkanımız Deniz Şahin Gümüştekin ve İzmir 3 Nolu Şube Kadın Komisyonu Başkanı Mine Bilir haksız ve hukuksuz bir şekilde tutuklanmışlardır.
Anayasal bir hak olan toplantı ve gösteri… pic.twitter.com/Mg9kfaqNO9
— Genel-İş (@DiSK_Genel_is) June 16, 2025
Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK) Chairwoman Arzu Çerkezoğlu also criticized the move.
“Democracy is the bread of the working class. Your power is not enough to halt DİSK’s rise and resistance,” she wrote on X.
İzmir'de emek ve demokrasi mücadelesini büyüten kızkardeşlerim
DİSK Genel İş İzmir 8 No’lu Şube Başkanı Deniz Şahin Gümüştekin ve Kadın Komisyonu Başkanı Mine Bilir’i tutukladılar.
Demokrasi işçinin ekmeğidir, DİSK'in büyümesini ve mücadelesini engelleyemeye gücünüz yetmeyecek!.. pic.twitter.com/UQcq4nUeQe— Arzu A. Çerkezoğlu (@ArzuCerkezoglu) June 16, 2025
The arrests have attracted political reactions as well, with Şenol Aslanoğlu, the provincial chair of the CHP in İzmir, saying the detentions were part of a broader crackdown on dissent.
“There is a systematic wave of repression targeting democracy, the rule of law and labor,” Aslanoğlu said in a statement on X, adding that the recent “hostile move” to arrest union officials “clearly shows how dark and unjust this process has become.”
Demokrasinin, hukukun ve emeğin üzerinden sistemli bir baskı dalgası geçiyor!
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanımız ve Cumhurbaşkanı Adayımız Ekrem İmamoğlu hakkında yapılan siyasi operasyonun halkın iradesine indirilen açık bir darbe olduğu yetmiyormuş gibi bugün bu… pic.twitter.com/U0N3UXC51m
— Şenol Aslanoğlu (@aslanogluchp) June 16, 2025