As part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Kurdish writers Mevlüt Aykoç, Sami Tan and Ronayi Önen were detained on Wednesday on the grounds of a Kurdish education book published in 2010.

Mevlüt Aykoç was detained in Istanbul, Sami Tan in Urfa and Ronayi Önen in Amed (Diyarbakır) as a result of police raids on their apartments earlier today.

Held at the Provincial Security Directorate, Sami Tan, President of Urfa Kurdish Language and Culture Association, was questioned about Hinker, a Kurdish education book he prepared in 2010 together with Ronayi Önen, Mevlüt Aykoç and Mehmet Sadık Varlı. Tan was asked about the purpose of the 3rd level of Hinker, which was published by the Kurdish Institute in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Sami Tan stated that the book was prepared for use in private Kurdish language courses.

Tan was also asked about the people in the images and the places in the book. Despite the fact that Hinker has been on sale in bookstores and on the internet with banderole since 2010, Tan was also questioned about the legal permissions for its publication.

Another remarkable question directed to Tan was about the fact that Hinker was found possessed by a martyred HPG guerrilla and in houses during raids at different times. It was claimed that Hinker was “the organization's ideological education material”. In addition, it was alleged that the PKK teaches Kurdish to its members who do not speak Kurdish with Hinker and Sami Tan was asked what he knew about this matter. Tan stated that Hinker was written for the purpose of teaching Kurdish.

The detention period of Sami Tan was extended by one day. He is expected to be referred to the courthouse tomorrow.