İHD İstanbul Chair Yoleri Briefly Detained over Speech at Saturday Mothers/People Meeting

Click to read the article in Turkish

Attorney Gülseren Yoleri, the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Chair, was detained in her house today (February 6).

The police told Yoleri that they will only "take her statement," attorney Eren Baskın from the İHD told bianet.

İHD Headquarters stated that she was detained to give a statement about the speech at a meeting of the Saturday Mothers/People. She was taken to Sarıyer District Security Directorate.

Attorney Baskın said that an investigation has been launched against her because of the words "war" and "operation" she mentioned in the speech.

The Saturday Mothers/People have been gathering in Beyoğlu, İstanbul for over 14 years, demanding justice for their relatives who "disappeared" in the Kurdish-majority southeastern cities in the 1990s.

The police intervened in the 759th meeting on October 12, 2019.

"As the people who have experienced the consequences of the severe destruction caused by the policies of violence and conflict, we have always been in favor of peace. We have always wanted Turkey to solve all its problems within law and justice and in peaceful ways. War is blood and tears for everyone. War is death. This is why humanity's common conscience rejects war.

"No doubt that the military intervention in North-East Syria will irreparably destroy the ideal of peaceful coexistence in the country and in the region. This intervention should be stopped immediately and peaceful solutions should be tried without further loss of life. We want this military operation, which destroys our universal peace ideal, to be stopped."

Having worked for the İHD for years, Yoleri was elected the association's İstanbul chairperson in 2007. She also served as the vice-chair of the İHD. (AS/VK)