Peace Mothers Beaten, Dragged Across Ground for Holding Demos on Hunger Strikes

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The Peace Mothers were subjected to police violence in the two gatherings they held to draw attention to the ongoing hunger strike of more than three thousand inmates in protest of the isolation on Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan.

On Friday (April 19), the mothers gathered in front of the Gebze M-Type Closed Prison in the western province of Kocaeli to make a press statement on the hunger strike.

Not allowing the women to read their statement, the police officers also pushed them from the back and beat them with batons even when they were leaving the area, according to the videos published on social media.

Açlık grevindeki çocukları için günlerdir Gebze Cezaevi önünde eylem yapan tutuklu annelerine polis sert müdahalede bulundu. Anneleri hakaret eşliğinde darp ederek sürükleyen polis amirine sosyal medyada #AnnelerDireniste tagı altında büyük tepki geldi. pic.twitter.com/8n4VeRO9oU

— Yeni Yaşam Gazetesi (@yeniyasamgazete) April 19, 2019

"Come on, speed up! You have energy, right?" a police officer heard saying.

The videos caused an uproar on social media, people protested the police under the hashtag #AnnelerDirenişte (Mothers are resisting).

The Governor of Kocaeli released a statement later, said an investigation has been opened against the police officers who "exceeded their authority and purpose."

Water cannons against mothers

The Peace Mothers staged a second demonstration on Saturday (April 20) in the mostly Kurdish-populated southeastern province of Mardin.

After they gathered for a sit-in and a press statement, the police surrounded them, saying they won't be permitted to make a statement. The police then took the placards from the mothers and dispersed the crowd.

The police officers used water cannons against the mothers and dragged them across the ground, the Mezopotamya News Agency reported.

Imprisoned journalist Zehra Doğan made this drawing on Friday's incident.

Mother Hevlet Öncü, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) provincial executive Şükran Erol and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Mazıdağı District Chair Mesut Ürün were detained during the incident.

After the Peace Mothers were dispersed, people again gathered on the same area to protest the police violence against them. The police dispersed this gathering too, detaining two people.

The police dragging a mother across the ground:

Gebze'den sonra Kızıltepe: Anneler yerde sürüklendi

Mardin Kızıltepe’de açlık grevi eylemlerine dikkat çekmek için açıklama yapmak isteyen #BarışAnneleri, polis şiddetine maruz kaldı. Annelerin yerde sürüklendiği müdahalede 5 kişi gözaltına alındı.https://t.co/YPN7nnsYBv pic.twitter.com/CcIPnahroE

— Mezopotamya Ajansı (@MAturkce) April 20, 2019

Parliamentary question by HDP MP

HDP denounced the "fascist attack," saying, "You won't get away with this oppression! The police attacked and insulted the mothers who staged a demonstration in front of the Gebze Prison."

HDP MP Hüda Kaya submitted a parliamentary question to the parliament on the incident, saying one of the police commanders "who wear a yellow coat did a similar provocative act in a gathering she herself attended."

HDP MP Leyla Güven began a hunger strike on November 8, 2018, to protest the isolation on Öcalan. To this day, more than three thousand inmates from 86 prisons across Turkey have joined the hunger strike, according to the Human Rights Association (İHD). (EMK/VK)