In an operation launched against the DBP in Amed, provincial branch Co-chair Ali Şimşek and the co-chairs of Kayapınar district branch have been detained so far. The police searches in party buildings continue.
Police raided the buildings of Party of Democratic Regions (DBP) Amed provincial branch and Kayapınar district branch and several homes including those of DBP provincial co-chair Ali Şimşek in the morning hours today. Police came to the provincial branch building in Amed’s Bağlar district and started searching the building. A large group of police attended the raid and several anti-riot and armored vehicles were dispatched to the area of the building against a possible protest.
One of the targeted locations was DBP’s Kayapınar district branch office, where police teams broke down the doors as nobody was in the building at the time. Police have seized all journals, newspapers, photographs and other property in the building. DBP district co-chairs Mustafa Uyguner and Sevim Adsoy went to the building after receiving the news of the raid and were subsequently detained by the police.
The co-chairs Uyguner and Adsoy were detained without a written custody warrant, under the verbal directives from the prosecutor. Both were later taken to Diyarbakır Police Headquarters.
After the detentions police ended their search and left the party building.
HOUSE RAIDS AGAINST THE CO-CHAIRS
Homes of several party officials were also raided along with the party buildings. DBP provincial branch co-chair Ali Şimşek was detained after a house raid. Former co-chair of DBP Kayapınar district branch Ramazan Şimşek’s home was also raided but he wasn’t detained as he wasn’t home at the time.
The search in the raided DBP provincial branch building continues for hours. All floors of the building are being searched and all computers, CDs and hard drives are examined one by one.
“THESE OPERATIONS ARE PART OF THE ATTACKS ON THE KURDISH PEOPLE”
As the search continued, HDP Diyarbakır MP Sibel Yiğitalp arrived at the building with a group of party members. Yiğitalp made a brief statement on the raid operation.
Recalling the KCK operations starting on April 14, 2009, Yiğitalp said politicians were being detained and arrested in a similar act today. Yiğitalp said, “It is apparent that these political genocide operations will continue. These operations are a part of the attacks on the Kurdish people. Everybody has to speak up from where they are to keep these operations from expanding. They will not discourage the Kurdish people with these operations and policies of intimidation.”
