Nine Kurdish youths in Mersin, southern Turkey, were formally arrested on charges of “making terrorist organisation propaganda”. The youths were initially detained on Monday after being targeted in a racist campaign for sharing a video on social media showing them dancing to a Kurdish song and chanting slogans on Mersin beach on 16 June. The arrests, coming more than a month later, have been criticised as part of a forced and racist campaign against what many consider a fabricated crime.
Following their detention and processing by the police, the youths were brought before the Mersin 1st Criminal Court of Peace. After their court appearance, Elmascan Ferhat Kayğın, Halil Öztürk, Ramazan Öztürk, Uğur Öztürk, Mahmut Gümüş, Serdar Amaç, Talha Yılmaz, Mehmet Salih Amaç and Muhammet Emin Amaç were arrested and sent to prison.
Ali Bozan, MP for Mersin from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, at a press conference condemned the detention of Kurdish youths, revealing they were forced to listen to the ultra-nationalist song “Ölürüm Türkiyem” (Die for you Turkey) in a police vehicle, with the footage shared online. He criticised the Interior Minister for using old footage to publicise the detentions, suggesting political motives.
Bozan stated that chanting “Biji Serok Apo” (Long Live Apo, referring to Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan) is not illegal. The Association of Lawyers for Freedom plans to file a complaint against the police for inciting hatred.
