Muhammed Orhan, an 18-year-old Kurdish boy who became the symbol of resistance in Van (Wan), Turkey, with his cheerful photograph taken during protests against what has been described as an election coup by the ruling party, was arrested on Thursday.
Orhan was detained earlier during the protests following police questioning, and then referred to court. The prosecution charged him with being a member of a terrorist organisation, leading to a judge’s decision to detain him on the same grounds.
The arrest follows mass protests in Van in response to the government intervention to local election results, where the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party mayoral candidate, Abdullah Zeydan, was deprived of his electoral win, with the certificate of election handed to a Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate instead. Thousands took to the streets in Van, with Orhan’s smiling arrest photo becoming an emblem of the demonstrations.
Orhan’s lawyer, Diyar Keserci, has expressed strong objection to the arrest, stating, “Despite the lack of a single concrete piece of evidence against my client, he has been scapegoated and detained. We will be making the necessary applications at this stage.”