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Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide. A statement from the office of the governor of Istanbul said that as of 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), police had arrested 575 people, describing them as people who had defied security decisions. Earlier, the CHD Lawyers’ Association said police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.

Large numbers of police, many in riot gear, had set up metal barricades to cut off access to central neighbourhoods of Istanbul, including Taksim Square, the site of many gatherings. Images aired on the opposition channel HALK TV also showed the president of the Turkish Workers’ Party, Erkan Bas, engulfed in pepper spray.”Those in power already speak 365 days a year, so let workers talk about the hardships they face at least one day a year,” he said.

Police focussed on groups who had signalled their intention to march to Taksim Square — the scene of several anti-government protests in the past — which had been sealed off overnight by police. A union official, Basaran Aksu, was arrested just after denouncing the Taksim lockdown. “You can’t close off a square to the workers of Turkey,” he said.”Everyone uses Taksim, for official ceremonies, for celebrations.

Only the labourers, the workers, the poor find the square closed to them.”- Police lines -May Day, which celebrates workers and the working classes, sees a major police deployment in Turkey every year, with a large area in the heart of Istanbul sealed off. Last year, protests moved to the Kadikoy area of the city and more than 400 people were arrested. In the Mecidiyekoy district, AFP reporters saw police use tear gas on the crowd, which included members of a Marxist party, the HKP, as they tried to push through while chanting “USA murderer, AKP (Turkey’s ruling party) accomplice”.

Police encircling the Besiktas neighbourhood stepped in — sometimes violently — whenever a chant was taken up by the demonstrators. AFP saw several protesters thrown to the ground. Unions and civil society associations had called for the May 1 demonstrations under the slogan “Bread. Peace. Freedom”. While inflation in Turkey is officially pegged at 30 percent, it is closer to 40, according to independent estimates.

In Ankara, about 100 coal miners who had staged a nine-day hunger strike to demand wage arrears were cheered as they joined the May Day march. The turnout, notably large and youthful, was monitored by a significant police presence, an AFP journalist said. Earlier this week, Turkish authorities issued arrest and search warrants against 62 people, of whom they deemed 46 — including journalists, trade unionists and opposition figures — “likely to carry out attacks”.

Fri, 01 May 2026 16:25:56 GMT