Grup Yorum band members released after detention during rehearsal

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Members of the Grup yorum music band were shortly detained yesterday (August 5).

Six members of the band were detained in Polonezköy, İstanbul, while they were rehearsing for their concert on August 9.

The police also raided the İdil Cultural Center in Okmeydanı quarter, detaining three people.

"This is our promise to Helin and İbrahim, we will give that concert! We will be millions in Yenikapı on August 9," it said on Twitter. Two members of the group, Helin Bölek and İbrahim Gökçek, died during death fasts in protest of the imprisonment of the band members on "terrorism-related" charges.

The band announced later in the day that six people were released (Betül Varan, Bahar Kurt, Dilan Poyraz, Eren Erdem, Sercan Toptancı and Barış Yüksel were released).

What happened?

The İdil Cultural Center in Okmeydanı, İstanbul has been raided by the police for over 10 times over the last two years. During the raids, instruments of Grup Yorum members were either broken or gone missing, their music books were also damaged. According to the statement made by the group, a total of 30 people were arrested in these raids.

The death fasting Grup Yorum members had the following demands:

* End the police raids against İdil Cultural Center, which is constantly raided, attempted to be terrorized and where the group is conducting its activities

* Remove the Grup Yorum members from the wanted lists of the Ministry

* Remove the ban on the concerts of Grup Yorum, all concerts of which have been banned for almost three years.

* Drop the lawsuits filed against Grup Yorum members

* Release all arrested Grup Yorum members

Having turned her hunger strike into a death fast, Grup Yorum member Helin Bölek lost her life on the 288th day of her death fast on April 3, 2020.

After the band applied to the Governor's Office of İstanbul to hold a concert, İbrahim Gökçek ended his death fast on the 323rd day and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance on May 5, 2020. Gökçek lost his life at the hospital two days later on May 7.

Gökçek started his hunger strike in prison and also turned it into a death fast. He was detained in a raid against İdil Cultural Center in İstanbul on February 26, 2019. Taken into custody as part of an investigation, Gökçek was arrested by the İstanbul 1st Penal Judgeship of Peace on March 1, 2019. Gökçek was released on February 24, 2020.

(AÖ/VK)