“The TUC express our solidarity with Mehmet Türkmen, President of the textile union BİRTEK-SEN, and the workers of the Başpınar Organized Industrial Zone in Antep, Turkey.

Mehmet has been arrested twice in the last few days: a new prosecutor was brought in to command his re-arrest him after the first had ordered his release. This time he has been accused of “inciting crime” after encouraging union organising. Such an accusation is an attack on the values that underpin trade unions worldwide. Trade unionism is a not a crime.

The arrest of Mr Türkmen, who has led his union in protesting for better conditions in the region’s textile factories, weakens his union and bears the hallmarks of state harassment of a legitimate trade union leader. This raises serious concerns about the protection of fundamental human rights, including the freedom of assembly, enshrined in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and freedom of association, protected by ILO Convention 87, which safeguards the right to organise and operate without interference. Both instruments have been ratified by Türkiye.

For years, workers in Türkiye have faced relentless attacks on their freedoms and rights. Civil liberties have been crushed, and trade unions and their members have been systematically targeted, often through prosecution on fabricated charges. Mehmet’s arrest is part of a pattern of repression that has made Türkiye one of the ten worst countries in the world for workers [link to 2024 Global Rights Index]

We demand the immediate release of Mehmet Türkmen and the cessation of state harassment against him and his union. We call on the authorities in Türkiye to lift the ban on peaceful demonstrations and to respect the fundamental rights of all workers and their representatives.”