Bağımsız Maden-İş leaders detained and hunger strike launched

Gökay Çakır, General President of the Independent Mine Workers Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş), and Organizing Specialist Başaran Aksu have been detained following protests by miners in Ankara. Both individuals were arrested on August 26 on charges including “inciting hatred and enmity.”

In a letter from Akhisar Süleymanlı Prison, Çakır criticized existing union structures, describing them as ineffective and calling on miners to seek better representation. He stated that being imprisoned for the sake of workers' rights is an honor.

Başaran Aksu, currently held in Sincan Prison, has announced an indefinite hunger strike to protest the violation of union rights and the use of criminal law as a tool of pressure. Aksu’s demands include the release of Çakır and his own transfer to Akhisar Prison. YENİ Party Artvin Deputy Uğur Bayraktutan visited Aksu, describing the detention as a form of punishment for exercising constitutional rights under Article 51. More than 300 lawyers have submitted an objection petition regarding the arrests.