In the course of a preliminary investigation conducted by the public prosecutor's office in Urfa, a total of forty people were arrested last week in several cities in Northern Kurdistan, among them lawyers, politicians and prison wardens. Of the twelve arrested prison wardens, one was jailed two days ago, the others were released.

On Wednesday, twenty more detainees were brought before the court in Urfa, including ten lawyers. While lawyer Sevda Çelik Özbingöl, Kurdish writer Halil Çay and Ilyas Yeşilçay were remanded in custody, the other 17 arrested persons were released with reporting requirements.

Today, the other detainees were brought before the court, including HDP’s Berivan Kutlu, the co-mayor of Cizre, who was replaced by trustee by the Turkish Ministry of the Interior. She was released with five other detainees.

So far, 52 persons have been interrogated, including twelve prisoners, as part of the preliminary proceedings initiated in 2018. They are accused of having coordinated the connection between the prisoners and the outside world for the "PKK/KCK Prison Committee". The accusation is based on statements by four secret witnesses.