Kobanî investigation | Detentions of 48 people extended for four days

Photo: MA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Forty-eight people who were detained in a new investigation into the "financial aspect" of the 2014 Kobanî protests were referred to the courthouse this morning (April 15).

Upon a request by the prosecutor's office, the penal judgeship of peace ordered their detention to be extended for four days, Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reported. The detainees were then taken back to the Security Directorate in the capital city of Ankara.

On April 12, prosecutors issued detention orders against 91 people, 48 of which have been detained.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office previously said the detentions had been carried out as per Law no. 6415 on the Prevention of Financing of Terrorism.

CLICK - Kobanî detentions: 'We are faced with another politically motivated investigation'

The suspects are accused of "being involved in the financial organization of the Kobanî incidents" and "providing financial assistance to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members who were killed or injured during the incidents," according to the prosecutor's office.

There is an ongoing trial about the deadly 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" for having allegedly organized the protests by the orders of the PKK.

About Kobanî protests

In 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.

(RT/VK)