The Syrian Democratic Youth Union condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the campaign of repression and arbitrary detentions carried out by the security authorities in Turkey in the early hours of Wednesday 1 July 2026 against participants in the youth camp organised by the World Anti-Imperialist Platform.
As we follow with deep concern the news of the detention of our activist comrades, we emphasise that this raid, which targeted an internal youth gathering in a small coastal town, some seven hours’ away from Istanbul and hundreds of kilometres from Ankara, where the NATO summit is due to be held, reveals the repressive nature of the Turkish regime and its organic connections with imperialist powers. The camp, the programme of which was limited to internal meetings amongst participants, and which did not host any public events or distribute political material, was raided a week before the NATO summit, confirming that the real aim is to silence any voice opposing NATO’s expansionist policies, and to criminalise peaceful activism and any political opposition to the Turkish regime, which is a puppet of imperialism.
We, the Syrian Democratic Youth Union, in declaring our absolute solidarity with our detained comrades, their organisations and their families, hereby:
– Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and the withdrawal of the false charges against them. We hold the repressive dictatorial regime in Turkey responsible for their health and safety.
– We stand in solidarity with the lawyers and legal bodies following the cases of our comrades detained in Turkey, and we value their efforts in defending their fundamental rights.
– We call on all progressive and democratic youth organisations, and free forces around the world, to condemn these arbitrary measures and to take urgent action to exert pressure to end the campaigns of repression targeting anti-imperialist activists wherever they may be.
– We also express our solidarity with our comrades in youth organisations and progressive political activists in Turkey who are facing repression, detention and brutal torture at the hands of the fascist Turkish regime.
We believe that attempts to silence and suppress us will not deter our youth from continuing the struggle for a world where justice prevails and freedom from imperialist hegemony is achieved, and our voice will remain loud in the face of all acts of repression and tyranny.
Freedom for the imprisoned comrades!
Glory to the strugglers, and victory to the anti-imperialist youth of the world!
Syrian Democratic Youth Union
Damascus, 3 July 2026
