Kobanî detentions: 'We are faced with another politically motivated investigation'
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Yesterday's (April 12) police raids to detain dozens of people throughout Turkey in a new investigation concerning the 2014 Kobanî protests violated the Law on Criminal Procedures, the Human Rights Association (İHD) has said.
Lawyer Metin Kılavuz, a member of the association's Central Executive Committee, was among the 91 people whose detentions were ordered by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to article 145 of the law, suspects should be invited to the courthouse to testify and the house raids violated the right to liberty and security, said the association.
With the "dawn raids," which has become a routine practice in Turkey and are announced to the public as "anti-terror operations," the presumption of innocence is also violated, according to the İHD.
Those who were ordered to be detained included former MPs, mayors, deputy mayors and NGO representatives, it further said.
"After the detentions, the lawyers who went to the security directorate to meet with their clients learned that the suspects were prohibited from meeting with their lawyers for 24 hours, and, at the same time, a confidentiality order was issued regarding the investigation file," the İHD said, adding that this practice violated the right to defense.
"Instructions by the government"
The fact that the investigation concerns events from eight years ago and that no legal action has been taken to this day shows that it has "no legal purposes," said the association.
Also, it added, information in the investigation file leaked to the press despite a confidentiality order, which also shows that the investigation is "politically motivated."
"Unfortunately, we are faced with another political operation," it said, adding that it rejects the use of the Anti-Terror Law as a tool of political repression. It demanded the release of all detainees, including its executive member, Metin Kılavuz.
There is an ongoing trial about the deadly Kobanî protests where 108 members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), including its former co-leaders and MPs, are facing aggravated life sentences on charges of "attempted overthrow."
The new investigation concerns the alleged "financial aspect" of the protests and most of the 91 people are accused of "providing financial assistance to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members who were killed or injured during the incidents."
About Kobanî protestsIn September 2014, ISIS, which controlled a large territory in Syria at the time, launched an offensive to Kobanî, a Kurdish town in northern Syria, near the country's border with Turkey. In late September, a group of people went to Suruç, a town neighboring Kobanî in the predominantly Kurdish city of Urfa, and attempted to cross the border. Police prevented them, using tear gas and rubber bullets. Pictures allegedly showing ISIS militia crossing into Syria were published on the same days. Also, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements at the time, indicating that they equated the PKK with ISIS. While the wounded coming from Kobanî were kept waiting on the border, the wounded from ISIS were treated at hospitals, according to news reports. Several news reports were reported in the press, saying "Kobanî fell." These news reports were denied every time. After the HDP made a call to take to the streets against a possible massacre in Kobanî, thousands of people protested in Kurdish-majority provinces as well as Ankara and İstanbul. While left parties also supported these protests, deaths also occurred with the onset of police violence. Street conflicts ensued. 42 people lost their lives from October 6 to 12, 2014. According to a report by the Human Rights Association (İHD), 46 people died, 682 people were wounded and 323 people were arrested in the protests held between September 7 and 12, 2014. As reported by the AA, 31 people lost their lives, 221 citizens and 139 police officers were wounded. |
(AS/VK)
