19 DTP Members in Detention in 5 Provinces

On 14 April, members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were taken into custody. Since then, around 500 party members have been taken into custody and 267 have been arrested.

During operations in the provinces of Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Bitlis, Batman and Mardin, all in the southeast of Turkey on 17 June, 19 people were taken into police custody. Among them are municipal officials and academics.

Raids in Diyarbakır

In Diyarbakır, anti-terorrism teams carried out raids in the homes of Rojda Balkaş, the deputy mayor of the Bağlar district, Mehmet Deviren, a leading province party member, Özlem Yasak, employee at the Bağlar Municipal Project Office, Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Yıldırım, lecturer at Dicle University's Geography department, Dr. Veysel Yıldırım, employee at the Diyarbakır Province Social Services Directorate, Bahri Çeçen, councillor in the Sur municipality, and Selahattin Elçi, former president of Municipal Diyarbakır's Development and Construction Department.

During the two-hour raids, seven people were taken into custody and taken to the Anti-Terrorism Branch.

Evindar Özbek, who had gone to a private hospital in the Yenişehir district of Diyarbakır, was taken into custody in the hospital.

Detentions in Bitlis and Şırnak

In Bitlis, police teams took five people into custody in the morning hours, among  them DTP district party chair Veysi Ceyhan.

DTP province party representatives have said that the reason for the detentions is unknown.

In Şırnak province and one of its districts, Cizre, the homes of municipal councillor Faysal Sarıyıldız, municipal trade union Bel-Sen representative Metin Fındık and Cizre municipal employee Abdurrahman Çakar were raided at around 2 am. Three people were taken into custody and taken to the Anti-Terrorism Branch.

Yahya İdin, former central district party chair in Şırnak and Beşir Katar, a DTP member, have also been detained.

Tuğyıldız arrested

In the Kızıltepe district of Mardin province, Abdullah Dal was taken into custody. In Batman Mustafa Tuğyıldız, the deputy mayor of Batman who had been taken into custody on 11 June and later released was again detained after the prosecution objected to his release. He has been arrested and sent to Batman M-type prison.

As far as bianet could ascertain from DTP sources, his arrest is based on Law No. 2911 on Gatherings and Demonstrations, which he is said to have violated, and on the fact that he wore a Kurdish costume during the Newroz celebrations in Batman on 21 March. (BÇ/AG)