15 more people arrested as part of an investigation against the DTK

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15 more people detained as part of an investigation against the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) were arrested yesterday (June 29).

Of the 20 people referred to court by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to be arrested, the following 15 people are now behind bars on charge of "being members of an organization": Makbule Özbek, Mehmet Güngörmüş, Fesih Balbey, Mehmet Cahit Ay, Emrullah Zümrüt, Adil Ercan, Mustafa Alımterin, Tevfik Kaçar, Yıldız Damla, Enver Çelik, Erdal Bayram, Fedai Akar, Jiyan Taş, Leyla Bağırtır and Mehmet Cahit Şık.

Eight people were arrested on June 28

As part of the same investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, eight people were arrested on June 28. With the recent arrests, the total number of arrested people has increased to 23.

22 people have been released with an international travel ban.

What happened?

An investigation was launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office based on the information and documents seized during house raids targeting the DTK on October 9, 2018. As part of this investigation, warrants for detention were issued against 64 people.

As part of this Diyarbakır-based investigation, 45 people in total were taken into custody in house raids in İzmir, İstanbul, Adana, Şırnak, Batman and Van provinces on June 26. Among the detained were also dismissed Batman Co-Mayor Mehmet Demir, Silvan Co-Mayor Naşide Toprak as well as executives from the DTK, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Rosa Women's Association and Democratic Regions Party (DBP).

While 22 people have been released with an international travel ban and 23 people in total have been arrested on charge of "membership of an organization" as of June 30, DTK Co-Chair Leyla Güven was also summoned to depose on June 29. (EKN/SD)