Genel-İş President Remzi Çalışkan and Mersin Branch President Kemal Göksoy detained

It has been reported that Genel-İş President Remzi Çalışkan, affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), and DİSK Genel-İş Mersin Branch President Kemal Göksoy have been detained as part of an Ankara-based investigation.

In a statement regarding the detentions, the DİSK-Genel İş General Executive Board said, "The detention of our President and Branch President through house raids in the middle of the night or early morning, despite their addresses being known and their ability to easily go and provide testimony when summoned, cannot be explained by any legal justification.

While the reason for the detention is not specified due to a confidentiality order, we do not accept this arbitrary detention decision and demand the immediate release of our President and Branch President."

Hukuksuzluğa Son Verilsin!
DİSK Genel Başkan Yardımcısı ve Genel-İş Genel Başkanımız Remzi Çalışkan ve Mersin Şube Başkanımız Kemal Göksoy dün gece hukuksuzca, temel hak ve özgürlükler yok sayılarak gözaltına alınmıştır.
Genel Başkanımız ve Şube Başkanımızın, adresi belliyken ve… pic.twitter.com/At1QruI5dX

— Genel-İş (@DiSK_Genel_is) November 26, 2024

The full text of the statement made by the DİSK-Genel İş General Executive Board is as follows:

"End the Lawlessness!

DİSK Vice President and our Genel-İş President Remzi Çalışkan and our Mersin Branch President Kemal Göksoy were detained last night unlawfully, disregarding fundamental rights and freedoms. 

The detention of our President and Branch President through house raids in the middle of the night or early morning, despite their addresses being known and their ability to easily go and provide testimony when summoned, cannot be explained by any legal justification.

While the reason for the detention is not specified due to a confidentiality order, we do not accept this arbitrary detention decision and demand the immediate release of our President and Branch President. 

Our country is increasingly moving away from the principles of a democratic state of law, and unfair and unlawful practices are on the rise. The latest example of this has been the detention of our President without any justification provided. This is also an intervention directed at the struggle of the working class and an extension of policies to intimidate society. This is a perception operation. 

As the successor to the half-century-old tradition of DİSK/Genel-İş, our President Remzi Çalışkan is an honorable trade unionist who has never spoken anything other than demands for democracy, justice, and equality in a life dedicated to the struggle for the rights of the working class and the provision of humane living conditions; he has continued his struggle around these values. Our President and our Mersin branch president, whose entire struggle is solely for the working class to live without exploitation, must be released immediately.

We underline once again that we will continue our working-class struggle without taking a step back.

DİSK/Genel-İş General Executive Board