ERBIL, Kurdistan region of Iraq - A Turkish media watchdog reported Friday that several journalists, academics, environmental activists, and the editor of an LGBT+ media outlet are among the over 200 people that have been arrested in Ankara ahead of an upcoming NATO summit in the capital.

Turkish police conducted a wave of so-called anti-terror raids on Tuesday, resulting in a series of detentions two weeks before the July 7–8 NATO summit in Ankara, which will bring together 32 heads of state, including US President Donald Trump.

At least 225 individuals were detained, according to the Turkish NGO, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), with 135 having been referred for prosecution following police questioning in Ankara.

Among those detained were Yildiz Tar, editor-in-chief of the LGBTQ+ publication Kaos GL, and Ankara University associate professor Emel Memis. 

Also included was Nevzat Ozer, the Ankara representative for the TEMA Foundation – one of Turkey’s leading environmental organizations – along with 42 of the foundation’s volunteers, aged between 50 and 80.

MLSA reported that 103 of them are being held in custody on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization," with prosecutors arguing that the suspects "may carry out terrorist acts in an effort to make Turkey appear as a country known for terrorism."

Prosecutors further declared that 185 people were tied to far-left organizations, whereas another 56 were suspected of Islamic State (ISIS) group ties.

According to MLSA, when questioned by police, the environmental volunteers were asked "whether they were members of the banned Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML), whether they used code names, and whether they had received armed training."

"As a journalist, let alone praising or encouraging terrorism-related crimes, I would never praise or encourage any act of violence," Tar claimed, adding that he never published any news report or article that could be considered terrorist propaganda.

"I practice journalism and write to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community, of which I am a member, and to combat prejudice against that community. In my statements, I exercised my right to freedom of expression through criticism," he said.

The report noted that Tar was not questioned about NATO during his interrogation, but was instead asked to explain why he had shared an interview critical of the Turkish government’s “Year of the Family.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the repression, arguing that exploiting anti-terror legislation to carry out mass detentions and suppress dissent ahead of the NATO summit contradicts the alliance’s core principles.

According to Reporters Without Borders' 2026 World Press Freedom Index, Turkey ranks 163rd of 180 countries for media freedom, with the watchdog noting that 90 percent of national media outlets are under government control and that there is “near-systematic censorship of the internet.”