The Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter for the province of Hakkari (south-eastern Turkey), Hamdiye Çiftçi, and a further ten people were detained on 13 June because of alleged connections to the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan/Turkish Assembly (KCK/TM), The KCK is the intend to organize the Kurdish people as an umbrella organization that includes the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The Van 3^rd High Criminal Court arrested the eleven people during raids on their homes, among them journalists Çiftçi and executives of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Protests rose in Hakkari as repercussions of the detentions.

The people detained by the Van local court are BDP Hakkari Provincial Chair M. Sıddık Şahin, BDP headquarters executive İzzet Belge, central district chair Seyhan Şahin, members of the provincial directorate Emine Akboğa, Hüsna Sağan and Fatma Duman, former provincial chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP, closed by the Constitutional Court in December 2009) Hivzullah Kansu, former DTP Şemdil provincial chair Emrullah Öztürk, Tahir Koç and one other person.

Demonstrator Akgül severely injured

As reported by the YuksekOvaHaber.com news site, 19-year-old Cemil Akgül was severely wounded in the course of demonstrations against the detentions in Hakkari. He was able to undergo surgery on 13 June. His right arm is numb and his left leg might be paralyzed, the news site announced.

According to the source, Akgül was hit at his head by a gas bomb thrown by the police from a close distance. Apparently, he suffered the most serious injuries from the explosion of the gas bomb.

Akgül underwent a four-hour surgery in the brain surgeon department of the Van State Hospital. His situation is not critic any more.

According to the website, the doctors said that blood vessels of the brain were damaged by the gas bomb and thus Akgül is carrying a high risk of his right leg being paralyzed. (EÖ/VK)