Police detained scores of people, including lawyers, political party members and activists, in a series of early morning operations in several cities across Turkey on Friday. Among those detained were Volkan Bilice and Hebun Hakan Akkaya, both lawyers affiliated to the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD).
According to initial reports, the Diyarbakır (Amed) Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrests, although official details remain scarce. Lawyer Bilice was arrested in Mersin, while Akkaya was arrested in Istanbul. Witnesses claim that Akkaya was physically and verbally abused before being handcuffed and taken to the local police headquarters. Both lawyers are expected to be transferred to Diyarbakır, and it is reported that the investigation file includes a 24-hour restriction on access to legal counsel.
Several houses in Mersin were searched in separate raids. Çiğdem Kılıç and Taner Ayten were detained in the Tarsus district on suspicion of “making terrorist propaganda”. They were then taken to the Tarsus district police station.
Other operations took place in the Cizre (Cizîr) district of Şırnak (Şırnex), where police raided homes in the Yafes and Nur neighbourhoods. Among those detained were Zehra Aslan, the mother of a 9-month-old baby, and Yusuf Alkan. Local sources said the number of detainees could rise as the investigation continues.
Meanwhile, in Izmir, police raided several addresses and detained leaders of political parties. Democratic Regions Party (DBP) deputy Gönül Yalçın, Sabri Gül and Koray Türkay of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party were among those detained. Police also searched the Jîn Art Cultural Centre in the Basmane neighbourhood of the Konak district, confiscating unspecified materials before taking the detainees to the provincial prison.
Lawyers and rights groups are closely monitoring the situation and calling for greater transparency and the immediate release of those held without charge. There have been no formal statements from the authorities on the specific charges, other than mentions of ‘Kurdish activism-related offences’.
