More than 100 people have been arrested in coordinated raids in Diyarbakır and 8 other provinces

 

Six journalists and two distributors of Yeni Yaşam newspaper were arrested in the early hours of 9 October, along with more than 100 other people including several politicians and activists.

The coordinated raids took place in Diyarbakır and eight other provinces, including Istanbul. The detainees, 23 of whom were released after questioning as of 10 October, faced terrorism-related accusations for their alleged involvement in activities of the banned PKK/KCK group, according to official statements.

The journalists arrested as part of the operation include Semiha Alankuş, a reporter for Yeni Yaşam newspaper, Mezopotamya Agency reporters Esra Solin Dal, Abdurrahman Gök and Lezgin Akdeniz, JinNews reporter Kibriye Evren and journalist Cihan Ölmez. Yeni Yaşam newsapaper distributors Savaş Aslan and Hayat Özmez were also arrested. Journalist Gök is known for photographing the fatal shooting by police officers of an unarmed university student, Kemal Kurkut, during a Newroz gathering in Diyarbakır in March 2017.

Journalist Ömer Çelik's house in Diyarbakır was also searched while the police raided and seized computers at the Diyarbakır bureau of Yeni Yaşam newspaper, reports said.

The detainees include Mehmet Şerif Çamcı, the Diyarbakır provincial chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), and many local politicians.

Mezopotamya Agency said 23 people were released after giving statements to the police at the Diyarbakır Police Headquarters. 98 people were still held in custody as of 10 October.