The Frankfurt police is investigating the Kurdish women's council Amara. The basis of the proceedings is an alleged violation of the law on associations in connection with the ban on PKK activities.
An investigation has been initiated against the Frankfurt-based Kurdish women's council Amara. A spokesperson announced on Friday that the association was accused of violating the law on associations in connection with the ban on activities by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The reason is a call for the Kurdish New Year festival Newroz, celebrated in Frankfurt in March, which was posted on Twitter.
The so-called SharePic showed several political prisoners, including Abdullah Öcalan. "The demand for freedom for political prisoners in Turkey was part of this year's mobilisation for the festival. Photos of prisoners are, of course, part of it. Abdullah Öcalan is the best known of the Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey. He has been held incommunicado on Imrali Island since 1999. For years, his lawyers have had no contact with him," explained the Women's Council.
The Council said, “This is the real scandal. This extreme isolation reaffirms Öcalan’s status as a hostage to left and revolutionary forces in Turkey and the Kurdish movement in particular. This isolation also includes the criminalisation of the demands for his release as well as the display of his picture.”
The organisation further wrote: "Against the background of Germany's special and particularly good relations with Turkey, the political authorities here have adopted the Turkish criminalisation mechanisms and are also taking action against political demands or even the display of photos of political prisoners in the context of the Kurdish movement. Isolation is also wanted to be executed abroad. At the same time, politically active Kurdish people and people who show solidarity with their demands are criminalised here."
The investigation against the Amara Women's Council is being conducted by the political police KIST , which is based at the Frankfurt police headquarters. The authority had requested Twitter to hand over the account data, and the microblogging service had complied. "In this case, the data protection of the users is obviously and effortlessly undermined. We hereby make the matter public," the spokesperson said.
The Amara Women's Council wants to continue to campaign for the freedom of political prisoners in Turkey and to make the poor prison conditions public. Among the prisoners are many elected political representatives, members of the HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) and former mayors whose cities are now under government-appointed trustee administration, and Abdullah Öcalan as well.
