Turkish Riot Police Storm CHP Headquarters in Ankara, Fire Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets

Turkish riot police stormed the headquarters of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara on Sunday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets as party members had blocked entrances with a makeshift barricade for days.

The BBC said the court decided that Özgür Özel should be replaced by Kemal Kilicdaroğlu, and it described clouds of tear gas billowing outside the CHP building as clashes broke out at the entrance.

Al Jazeera

In a video message shared on X, Özel said, "We are under attack," as security forces sought entry to the building.

After police forced him out, Özel told crowds gathered outside, "They tried to uproot and throw us out - to where?" and then led hundreds of supporters through the streets of Ankara toward the Turkish parliament.

The BBC reported that the court’s decision overturned a 2025 ruling by a lower court that threw out allegations of vote buying in the party election which made Özel leader.

Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday that Erdoğan’s government was undermining Turkish democracy with "abusive tactics" against the CHP, as the police raid followed days after a court dismissed the opposition leadership.

The BBC also reported that Turkish media said Kilicdaroğlu's representatives had requested police carry out "necessary procedures" to hand over the headquarters to the new leadership, claiming they had so far been barred entry.

Al-Jazeera Net

Euronews said police used tear gas inside the CHP building in Ankara to enforce a controversial judicial decision reinstating former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, and it reported that more than 100 police officers arrived earlier in the day.

Euronews quoted CHP MP Mahmut Tanal telling Kılıçdaroğlu to "pull back your third-rate mafia thugs" as tensions escalated around the reinstatement.

Euronews added that Kılıçdaroğlu issued a statement calling on the CHP leadership to "comply with the court ruling and not act against party discipline" while his lawyer applied to Ankara police to request the building be handed over.

The BBC said Özel later emerged from the premises and told supporters the party would be "from now be on the streets or in the squares, marching towards power," as he set off toward the Turkish parliament.

The BBC reported that the next presidential election is not due until 2028, but Erdoğan can call for an early vote, while it noted that Özel can only run for president again if he calls early elections before 2028 or changes the constitution.

Euronews reported that the raid followed a phone call on Friday between Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel, and it said Kılıçdaroğlu’s press adviser Atakan Sönmez described an intention to "take the party to a congress at the most appropriate time."

Euronews also said CHP MP Ali Mahir Başarır challenged Kılıçdaroğlu to face the party membership and told him, "If you refuse to recognise the congresses we've held, then bring out the ballot box and let's hold a congress with whichever delegates you wish," linking the dispute to future party decisions.

The BBC framed the enforcement as part of a broader political struggle, noting that Özel had vowed to defy the appeal court decision on Thursday and that the court’s move replaced the party’s entire executive, leaving decisions thought to no longer be recognised.