site.btaOver 400 Demonstrators Detained in Istanbul on Labour and Solidarity Day

A total of 409 demonstrators were detained in Turkiye by police on May 1, Labour and Solidarity Day, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told Turkish media. 407 people were detained in Istanbul, and one person each in the northern city of Tokat and Van in the southeast. He said those detained would be held accountable for violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations. 

During the May Day celebrations across Turkiye, a total of 286,000 people took part, and 122,777 police officers were deployed to provide security at the events, Yerlikaya also said.

According to the opposition Cumhuriyet daily, hundreds of demonstrators were blocked by police in Istanbul's central districts of Besiktas and Sisli, where clashes occurred as protesters tried to break through barricades.

Among those blocked were members of parliament from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Police stopped demonstrators from reaching Taksim Square, where mass gatherings have been banned since 2013.

According to news site T24, 11 lawyers were among those detained. The Istanbul Bar Association called for their release, arguing that "the detentions are unlawful." Hundreds of people were detained in other parts of the city as well.

According to opposition media, the interrogation of the detainees by police is ongoing.

Authorities had blocked transport links between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul and the demonstrations were held in the districts of Kadikoy and Kartal on the Asian side, where a total of 65,000 people participated.

Labour and Solidarity Day was reinstated as a national public holiday in Turkiye in 2009, following a decades-long ban. Turkish media recalled the 1977 clashes in Taksim Square, where nearly 40 people were killed and around 200 injured on Labour Day.