4 Students in Custody for Attending Demonstrations
Four high school students were taken into police custody in a raid by the Anti-Terror Branch on their hostel on Wednesday morning (11 May). The students were accommodated in the hostel of the Van Science High School in the Kurdish-majority city of Van in south-eastern Turkey. The four students were arrested after their interrogation and taken to the Children's Branch. They were allowed to see their lawyers on Thursday (12 May).
Müjde Tozbeyerden, one of the lawyers who spoke to the students, said in a statement made to bianet that they were still not able to see the file due to a decision of confidentiality.
"They were interrogated although it was forbidden"
According to Tozbeyerden, the students are alleged of establishing a connection to the youth division of the outlawed armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The lawyer reported that two of the high school students were taken from their hostel and another two students from the school by anti-terror teams. They were brought to the police. Even though the interrogation of juveniles under age by the police is usually forbidden, the police asked them questions about the PKK youth movement.
"The period of police custody expired on Thursday morning at 7.00 am. They did not let us talk to the children for 24 hours because of the decision of confidentiality on the file", the lawyer said.
"I went again this morning [12 May]. When I arrived, the period of police custody had not been extended yet. I was only able to talk to the children because the 24-hour-ban of talking to a legal advisor had expired".
"However, we are still barred from seeing the file. I insisted that the period of police custody for the children had expired and that they should be released, but they did not release them. The period of custody was extended after they saw the prosecutor", Tozbeyerden indicated.
"They are trying to match them up with the PKK"
"They are trying to find a connection between the children and the PKK. I do not think that they are affiliated with the PKK because there is no evidence or proof. Moreover, the things done by the children do not accord with a membership in the PKK", the lawyer continued.
"In my opinion, the police custodies are related to the YGS [Examination to Access Higher Education] demonstrations because all four of the students fulfilled certain duties during the YGS demonstrations."
In recent weeks, the Turkish education system was shaken by a scandal related to the central YGS and its answer key that had been made available for a certain group of students before the examination. The scandal fuelled a wave of student demonstrations.
Tozbeyerden said that the police asked student H. if he was involved in throwing a Molotov cocktail to a bank because they found the "Left" ('Sol') magazine which is affiliated to the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) in his bag.
"This student is well known for his political sympathies. I think he came to this point only because he was in the front row of the YGS demonstrations", the lawyer underlined.
"Imagine, they are trying to affiliate a student who is openly supporting the TKP with the PKK. Even though both groups are left-wing structures, everybody knows that they can be found on absolutely opposite ends of politics".
"Just as they are trying to match up people with Ergenekon in the east in recent times, they are trying to match up the people in Van with the KCK [Union of Kurdistan Communities] or the PKK".
"This is how we treat students who attend YGS demonstrations"
Tozbeyerden claimed that the police cursed the other students when they entered the school and the hostel. "They shouted 'We will take in everybody who attends the YGS demonstrations like this'. Hence, the students in custody know that they were actually taken in because of the YGS demonstrations and not because of any PKK trial. So, they are very much on ease". (EKN/VK)