In the early hours of July 1, an incident occurred in which Turkish police special forces, armed with heavy weapons and even deploying drones, raided an internal youth camp of the World Anti-Imperialist Youth Platform on the outskirts of Istanbul, forcibly subdued approximately 20 persons, including an international delegation and Turkish youth activists, and illegally detained them. The arrested comrades were held at a police station in Çanakkale, whereupon anti-imperialist organizations, progressive legal circles and youth organizations around the world immediately launched protests and a struggle for their release. After ten days of international solidarity struggle, all the detainees were released between July 10 and 11 and returned to their respective homelands.

The struggle for release involved numerous organizations from across the globe, including the DPRK International Solidarity Group, the International Youth Friendship League, the World Anti-Imperialist Workers' Platform, the People's Democracy Party, the Yugoslav Communist Youth League and the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia, the Kenya Marxist Communist Party, the French Communist Revival Pole, Italy's Risorgere and the Communist People's Unity Party, the Communist Party of Peru, the Sveriye Democratic Youth Union, the Greek Revolutionary Theory Group, the Kalk Party, the Communist Party of Britain, the Benin Communist Youth Union, the Serbian League of Revolutionary Communists, the Leninist Communist Youth League of Russia, and the "JoJack" movement.

The DPRK International Solidarity Group issued a statement immediately after the incident and voiced strong protest against the illegal detention of its core members. The organization condemned the actions of the Turkish authorities as a violation of the freedom of academic exchange and basic human rights, and urged the immediate release and safety guarantee of all detainees.

Turkish workers, members of the World Anti-Imperialist Workers' Platform, participated in the anti-NATO protest held in Istanbul and vigorously raised their voices against imperialist war machinations and NATO. The People's Democracy Party held party rallies in front of the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul and the Turkish Embassy, demanding the release of the detainees, including two of its youth party members, while staging one-person pickets and sit-in strikes to condemn the fascist repression by the Turkish authorities. The Yugoslav Communist Youth League and the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia exerted diplomatic pressure by informing the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and delivering a protest letter to the Turkish Embassy, striving for the release of their First Secretary. The Kenya Marxist Communist Party, comparing this incident with the arrest of World Anti-Imperialist Platform activists in Nairobi last May, exposed that imperialism is collaborating internationally to suppress the anti-imperialist movement. The French Communist Revival Pole criticized this repression as preventive detention ahead of the NATO conference and a sign of the spreading fascism across Europe. Italy's Risorgere and the Communist People's Unity Party argued that the Turkish authorities, as a forward base of NATO, are seeking to pre-emptively block anti-war and anti-NATO forces, and organized protests and diplomatic objections. The Communist Party of Peru, the Sveriye Democratic Youth Union, the Benin Communist Youth Union, and others also issued statements demanding the release of the detainees and calling for international solidarity. The Greek Revolutionary Theory Group and the Kalk Party analyzed this incident as part of the systematic repression by imperialist forces driving a third world war, and resolved to intensify the anti-imperialist struggle. The Communist Party of Britain defined the detention as “kidnapping” and demanded the unconditional release of all detainees.

Meanwhile, the President of the International Association of Peace Foundation personally visited Istanbul as part of efforts for the release of the detainees. In a meeting with the Russian Consul General in Istanbul, he concretely discussed progress in the work to rescue the detained activists, and in a meeting with the Chairman of the Justice Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, he strongly urged prompt release and the guarantee of human rights.

As a result of this international protest and solidarity struggle, all the detainees were released between July 10 and 11 and returned to their respective homelands.