The political operations of the Turkish state, which include extensive detentions and arrests aiming to dissolve the Kurdish political movement, continue increasingly in Kurdish cities in line with the AKP government’s recently enhanced war policies. While 12 persons were detained in Siirt, Ankara and Van, 8 persons were formally arrested in Amed.

SİİRT

Special operation teams wearing snow masks raided simultaneously 5 houses in Çal, Barış, Conkbayır, Dumlupınar and Affet neighbourhoods in Siirt early this morning. Two 17 years old, S. Ö., Z. E. and Mücahit Erdoğan, Barış Tuncay and Tajdin Çağlar were detained in the operation. While no information has been given about the reason of the detentions, the detainees have reportedly been taken to the police headquarters in Siirt.

AMED

8 persons who were detained four days ago in house raids in Ergani district of Amed were referred to the court with arrest request following their testimonies in the prosecutor’s office. The 8 persons, whose names are Mazlum Güzel, Vedat Alpyılmaz, Murat Genç, Abbas Akhatun, Kemal Aslan, Ethem Onuş, Abdullah Karakaş ve Baran Aladağ, were then formally arrested by the court on the alleged grounds of “being a member of an organisation” and “committing crimes in the name of the organisation”. The arrested people have reportedly been taken to Diyarbakir D type prison following the court session.

ANKARA

Anti-terror teams and gendarme forces raided 5 houses in the Yenimahalle, Sincan and Keçiören districts in Ankara early this morning on the alleged ground that the people in the houses were members of “PKK’s urban structure”. 5 people were reportedly detained in the operation and taken to the police headquarters in Ankara.

VAN

Police simultaneously raided houses in the early morning hours in the Erciş district of Van and detained DBP Erciş branch co-chair Abdurrahman Turan and Sait Bulut on the ground of an investigation launched  about the detainees for “doing propaganda for the organisation”.