The political crisis escalated in Turkey on Sunday after riot police stormed the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party, the largest opposition party in the country, using tear gas to expel the ousted party leader, Ozgur Ozal, and his supporters from the building.
The scenes showed tear gas rising inside the party headquarters, while those inside were screaming and throwing things toward the entrance, coinciding with the police storming a temporary barrier at the entrance to the building.
The number of injuries resulting from the confrontations was not immediately clear.
On Thursday, a Turkish court ruled to dismiss Ozgur Ozal and cancel the results of the Republican People’s Party congress during which he was elected in 2023, based on irregularities that the authorities said marred the process.
Earlier on Sunday, the governor of Ankara issued an order to evacuate the party headquarters and expel those inside.
Ozal said, in a video message he posted on the “X” platform during the police intervention: “We are under attack.”
After leaving the building following police intervention, Ozal spoke to the media amid cheers and applause from his supporters, declaring that “the Republican People’s Party will from now on be in the streets and squares seeking power.”
Ozal led hundreds of supporters towards the Turkish Parliament, while large numbers of riot police accompanied them.
On the other hand, the isolated party leadership denounced the judicial ruling, and described what happened as a “judicial coup,” while Ozal pledged to challenge the decision through legal paths, and to remain “day and night” inside the party’s headquarters in Ankara.
On Saturday, Ozal called for a new party conference to be held as soon as possible, but Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced that the conference would be held “at the appropriate time.”
In a related development, official media reported that the Turkish police arrested 13 people in connection with investigations related to the party conference in 2023, amid accusations of violating the political parties law, receiving bribes, and money laundering.
