In the early hours of the morning on June 25, the Turkish police raided offices and houses of trade unionists in around 20 cities in Turkey. Seventy-one trade union members and leaders were detained. They are members of the ITUC-affiliated Confederation of Public Sector Workers’ Unions (KESK) and its affiliates Egitim-Sen, BTS, Tarim Orkam-Sen, SES, Tum Bel-Sen, BES, ESM and Haber-Sen.

While some of the detainees were released on Friday 29 June, 28 trade unionists (including 15 members of the EI-affiliated teacher union Egitim-Sen) remain in detention, pending trial. Among the detainees are Mehmet Bozgeyik, Egitim-Sen General Secretary, and Sakine Esen Yilmaz, Egitim-Sen Gender Secretary.

This attack – carried out under the pretext of an operation against an illegal terrorist organisation – is the latest in a number of acts of intimidation and harassment against trade unions and their members during the past year. In February this year, 15 women leaders and activists of a number of KESK-affiliated unions were arrested. In October 2011, 25 Egitim-Sen and KESK members were sentenced to six years and five months’ imprisonment by the Izmir Criminal Court. While the first link between Turkey’s trade unions and any real or perceived terrorist organisation has yet to be found, the authorities leave no opportunity untapped to refer to such an alleged link as an excuse for harsh and arbitrary repression.

In a protest letter to the Turkish Prime Minister, EI condemned these anti-union attacks and urged him to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all detained trade unionists.

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