Dozens of people, including pro-Kurdish party representatives, were arrested for their social media posts in raids across several cities in Turkey on Tuesday.
The Interior Ministry has confirmed that 98 people were detained in raids across 18 provinces, saying the operation was aimed at “those who propagate an illegal organisation on social media and members of the PKK/KCK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Kurdistan Communities Union]”.
While most of those detained are still being processed by the police, some have been released after being referred to the courts. Further arrest warrants were issued at the time of reporting.
The ministry said that a large amount of digital material had also been seized in the raids.
Meanwhile, 39 of the 42 people, including members of the Youth Assembly of the People’s Democracy and Equality Party (HEDEP), former leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), who were detained in Istanbul on Friday have been released under judicial control, while three were sent to prison on Tuesday.
The confidentiality order on the case against the ÖHD and HEDEP members remains in place.
