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, Diyarbakır, 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 İmralı", was taken into custody in Istanbul in a crackdown on his home. The police also raided the home of lawyer Mahmut Alınak, a former MP, who was taken into custody as well.
The operation was carried out in 16 cities all over Turkey, including Diyarbakır, Istanbul, Ankara, Kocaeli, Şırnak, 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:
Diyarbakır
In the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in the south-east of Turkey, BDP Provincial Co-Chair Ömer Önen; Bağlar Deputy Mayor Derya Tamriş; Bağlar BDP District Chair Ali Yüce; Municipality Assembly member Kadir Gökdemir; Provincial Assembly members Fatma Kızılkan and Şafi Hayme; lawyers Baran Pamuk, 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 Asrın 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 Alınak was raided in the north-eastern city of Kars, it was announced that the lawyer was in Istanbul. His lawyer Bişar Abdi Alınak 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 Asrın 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. (IC/YY)
