Prosecutor Demanded Arrest of Ersanlı and Zarakolu

Prof. Dr. Büşra Ersanlı and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu were taken to the court on Monday (31 October) upon the demand of the prosecutor to arrest them.

Ersanlı, lecturer at the Marmara University (Istanbul) Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations, and Zarakolu, chairman of the Freedom to Publish Committee of the Publishers Association of Turkey, owner of the Belge Publisher House, were part of a group of 50 people who were taken into police custody in the course of the KCK (Union of Kurdistan Communities) operations on 28/29 October.

After the interrogation at the police, all 50 persons were taken to the Istanbul Courthouse on Monday morning. The prosecutor decided to take 47 of them to court with the demand to arrest them. Three people were released: İhsan Eliaçık, Didem Arda and Osman Aslan.

According to lawyer Ercan Kanar, the suspects were interrogated by 12 different prosecutors.

Kanar told bianet on Tuesday morning (1 November) that the interrogation of seven people has not been completed yet. An announcement will be made after these statetements will have been taken.

Kanar said that the interrogations of Ersanlı and Zarakolu were finished. The lawyer reported that both of them were asked questions related to their activities at the Policitcal Academy of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

Protests in front of the courthouse

While academic Ersanlı and  Zarakolu gave their statements at the Beşiktaş (Istanbul) Courthouse, hundreds of people protested the latest wave of police custodies in front of the building.

The demonstrators had lots of renowned supporters such as Kurdish politician Sebahat Tuncel, columnist Yıldırım Türker, widow of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Rakel Dink; journalist Özgür Mumcu, academic Koray Çalışkan, Prof. Dr. Gencay Gürsoy, Necmiye Alpay, Celalettin Can, President of the Press Institute Association Ferai Tınç, Provincial Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, Chair of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) Alper Taş and lawyer İbrahim Çiçek on behalf of the People's Democracy Congress.

Moreover, many of Ersanlı's students joined the protest. They said that they were going to persevere in front of the courthouse until a decision about the people in custody would have been taken.

The group of protestors held Ersanlı's book entitled "Power and History" and chanted slogans like "Teacher Büşra is not alone", "Long live the people's brotherhood", "We are all Kurds, we are all KCK members" or "Peace cannot be struck with handcuffs". (IC/EKN/NV/VK)