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Lawyers in Turkish Custody: In the course
of anti-KCK operations
26.11.2011 |
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November 26, 2011
ISTANBUL, — About 100 people, most
of them lawyers, were taken into police custody in
the course of the latest KCK operations in several
provinces of Turkey on 22 November. The Özgür Gündem
newspaper was raided as well as many private homes
and offices.
At least a hundred people were taken into police
custody in the most recent KCK operations carried
out on Tuesday (22 November). KCK stands for the
Union of Kurdish Communities, an organization that
also includes the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK).
The crackdowns started on Tuesday morning in
Istanbul,
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File Photo |
Diyarbakir, Bursa and Ankara. About 70 persons taken
into police custody are lawyers, among them Ayşe
Batumlu and Sabahattin Kaya, lawyers of imprisoned
PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Many people taken into
custody are also executives of the pro-Kurdish Peace
and Democracy Party (BDP).
Writer and journalist Cengiz Kapmaz, author of the
book "Öcalan's Days on Imrali", was taken into
custody in Istanbul in a crackdown on his home. The
police also raided the home of lawyer Mahmut Alinak,
a former MP, who was taken into custody as well.
The operation was carried out in 16 cities all over
Turkey, including Diyarbakir, Istanbul, Ankara,
Kocaeli, Şirnak, Bursa, Batman, Kars and Hakkari.
These are the names of some of the people taken into
police custody as reported by the ANF News Agency:
Diyarbakir
In the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in the
south-east of Turkey, BDP Provincial Co-Chair Ömer
Önen; Baglar Deputy Mayor Derya Tamriş; Baglar BDP
District Chair Ali Yüce; Municipality Assembly
member Kadir Gökdemir; Provincial Assembly members
Fatma Kizilkan and Şafi Hayme; lawyers Baran Pamuk,www.ekurd.net
Fuat Coşacak, Nuri Çelik, Osman Çelik, Mehmet Nuri
Deniz and others were taken into police custody.
It was announced that crackdowns were also carried
out in the villages of Gözeli, Hasuvar and Taşdibek.
Istanbul
The Asrin Law Office in Istanbul was raided,
including many offices of lawyers in the building.
It was reported that only in Istanbul at least 24
people were taken into police custody. Journalist
Cengiz Kapmaz was taken into police custody during a
raid on his home in Gültepe (Istanbul).
Kars
While the home of former MP Alinak was raided in the
north-eastern city of Kars, it was announced that
the lawyer was in Istanbul. His lawyer Bişar Abdi
Alinak announced that books, CDs and documents were
seized. Also his house in Istanbul was searched;
three bags of documents were confiscated.
Hakkari
Four lawyers were reportedly taken into police
custody during raids on their homes in Yüksekova/Hakkari
(south-eastern Turkey).
Bursa
Öcalan's lawyer Ayşe Batumlu was taken into custody
in Bursa (north-western Anatolia).
Batman
The home and office of BDP Batman Provincial Chair
lawyer Mehdi Öztürk was reportedly searched on
Tuesday morning in the scope of the probe started in
Istanbul.
Van
The house of Öcalan's lawyer Sabahattin Kaya, member
of the Van Bar Association, was raided in the
morning. Kaya was taken into police custody and
brought to the Van Police Directorate.
Mersin
Lawyer Bedri Kuran of the Asrin Law Office was taken
into custody. Her home in Mersin (eastern
Mediterranean coast) was searched.
Kocaeli
15 people, among them university students, were
taken into police custody in Kocaeli (east of
Istanbul).
Crackdown on Özgür Gündem newspaper
The police also raided the office of the Özgür
Gündem ('Free Agenda') newspaper. The computers in
the daily's Istanbul office were confiscated.
Detained lawyers Batumlu and Kapmaz were also
writing for the newspaper. The editorial board of
the Özgür Gündem newspaper harshly criticized the
operation in a statement issued after the probe.
Moreover, the offices of the monthly political
magazines Demokratik Modernite and Dipnot were
searched as well.
Copyright © 2011, respective
author or news agency,
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