İstanbul’s European side under 'lockdown' amid Taksim May Day ban; hundreds detained

All roads and public transit hubs in a wide area around Taksim have been closed. Groups who attempted to march to Taksim were blocked by police.

Evrim Kepenek

TRTürkçesini Oku KUBi Kurdî Bixwînin

Evrim Kepenek

TRTürkçesini Oku KUBi Kurdî Bixwînin

İstanbul’s European side under 'lockdown' amid Taksim May Day ban; hundreds detained — Photos and videos: Evrim Kepenek/bianet

İstanbul authorities closed roads and transit links across central districts on the city’s European side on May Day as police enforced a ban on gatherings in and around Taksim Square, detaining hundreds of people who attempted to march toward the area.

The Governor’s Office banned all public events in Beyoğlu, where Taksim Square is located, as well as nearby Beşiktaş, Şişli and Fatih districts. Police cordoned off Taksim Square and surrounding areas from the early morning. Metro stations and side streets in Taksim area were also closed, as well as ferries operating between the city's Asian and European sides.

Taksim Square, the historic site of May Day gatherings in İstanbul, has been closed to such events since 2012. Most labor unions and left-wing parties are marking the day in designated areas on the Asian side, while some groups attempted to reach Taksim.

After some unions and political parties called for a gathering in Şişli’s Mecidiyeköy district, several kilometers from Taksim, Halaskargazi and Büyükdere avenues were also closed starting around the Cevahir shopping mall. Police teams and water cannon vehicles were deployed at street entrances in the area.

#1Mayıs | Mecidiyeköy'de gözaltına alınan yurttaş gözaltı aracına götürülürken "Taksim halka kapatılamaz" sloganı attı.

📹: Evrim Kepenek ( @kepenekevrimm ) pic.twitter.com/rtmNuSNWhH
— bianet (@bianet_org) May 1, 2026

Police also blocked filming of people surrounded or detained by officers by closing the area with shields. Those held inside the police cordon chanted, “Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance.”

Police later fired pepper spray at the crowd that tried to march from Mecidiyeköy to Taksim.

As the confrontation continued, more than 350 people were detained, according to the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD).

#1Mayıs | Polis, Mecidiyeköy'de "Her yer Taksim her yer direniş" sloganı atan @Halkevleri üyelerini işkence ile gözaltına aldı.

📹: Evrim Kepenek ( @kepenekevrimm ) pic.twitter.com/8Qa3DucyQm
— bianet (@bianet_org) May 1, 2026

Later, police allowed members of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) to read out a statement in Mecidiyeköy while excluding other groups from the area. (EMK/VK)

Origin

Istanbul

May Day labor day

Evrim Kepenek

@kepenekevrimm

[email protected]

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Editor of Bianet’s women and LGBTI+ news section (Oct 2018–Feb 2025). Previously worked as a Bianet intern between 2000 and 2001. Reported for Cumhuriyet, BirGün,...

Editor of Bianet’s women and LGBTI+ news section (Oct 2018–Feb 2025). Previously worked as a Bianet intern between 2000 and 2001. Reported for Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, and İMC TV. Also worked for local newspapers in Rize. Her articles and news reports have been published in Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo, and various industry magazines. She is one of the founding writers of GOR, a magazine focused on Hemşin culture.

She contributed to several books, including Portraits of Women from the Black Sea: From Green to Blue, The Basket on Her Back, and Media and Lies. Winner of the Musa Anter Journalism Award (2011) and the Turkish Psychiatric Association’s Best News Award (2024).

A founding member of the Turkish Journalists’ Union’s Women and LGBTI+ Commission, she currently serves as a board member of the union’s İstanbul Branch (2023–2027).

She holds degrees in European Union studies from İstanbul University and international relations from Bilgi University. She organizes workshops on gender-sensitive journalism and reporting on gender-based violence. Since Feb 2025, she has been working as a women's news editor.