İZMİR - Following the publication of the early election decision in the Official Gazette on March 10, at least 364 people were detained and 116 people were arrested, including 7 journalists.

 

While the expectations of the peoples of Turkey and Kurdistan for the President and General Elections to be held on May 14 are growing, the political parties continue their work at full speed. While the opposition leaders are traveling from city to city promising freedom, democracy and justice, the AKP government is preparing for the elections by comparing the elections with a 'coup' or discriminating against their lifestyles.

 

On the other hand, the government, which has increased the pressure on the Greens and Left Future Party (Green Left Party) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), carries out its election activities with detentions and arrests. Pressing the button with the publication of the early election decision in the Official Gazette on March 10, the government directed its judiciary and law enforcement power to the opposition. HDP Former Urfa MP İbrahim Binici, whose sentence of 1 year and 18 months was upheld on March 11, the day after the verdict was published, was arrested.

 

364 PEOPLE WERE DETAINED IN 2 MONTHS

 

In the last two months, at least 364 people were detained, including Green Left Party MP candidates, HDP VQA members, HDP provincial and district administrators, socialist parties and youth organizations executives and members, journalists, lawyers and citizens, while 116 people were arrested. In addition to these, dozens of citizens who were detained for participating in Newroz rallies or sharing social media were released after their police statements.

 

ELECTION-INDEX OPERATIONS

 

Realizing that it was losing out on public opinion and the voice of the street, the AKP accelerated these operations in the last two weeks and increased the attacks against the HDP and its components, together with the editors and reporters of the Mezopotamya Agency in Amed, Istanbul and Ankara-based operations. In these attacks, Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) Co-chairperson Dicle Müftüoğlu, MA editors Abdurrahman Gök, Sedat Yılmaz, JINNEWS reporter Beritan Canözer, Green Left Party parliamentary candidates and dozens of HDP politicians were arrested.

 

Some of the detentions and arrests we have compiled are as follows;

 

March 12:  11 people were detained in Ankara and Adana, including members of the ESP Party Assembly, SGDF, Socialist Women's Assembly (SKM) and a reporter from Effective News Agency within the scope of the Istanbul-based investigation. While 9 people were arrested, including SGDF Co-Spokesperson Okan Danacı, of the 11 people who were referred to the court on March 15, 2 people were released.

 

March 22: HDP VQA member İdil Uğurlu, Barış Mother Behiye Yalçın, Selma Demir, HDP Youth Council Member Berfin Çiçek, Hayat İzgi, Newroz Çelik and Barış Kırmızıtaş were detained in house raids in İzmir. While Barış Kırzımtaş was released after his police statement, İdil Uğurlu, Behiye Yalçın, Selma Demir, Hayat İzgi, Berfin Çiçek and Newroz Çelik, who were brought to court on March 24, were arrested.

 

March 25: Lokman Kabişen, who was detained in a military operation 5 days ago in the Tetergazi village of the Malazgirt district of Mûş, was arrested on the charge of "being a member of a terrorist organization" by the court on duty on March 30.

 

23 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED IN RIHA

 

March 27:  Former district mayor Hülya Demir, HDP District Co-chair Yaşar Gündüzalp, DBP district Co-chair Rojda Binici are among them. 23 people were detained, including 23 people who were referred to the courthouse on 31 March were arrested within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Suruç Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on allegations of "membership in a terrorist organization", "financing the organization" and "fraud at the expense of the public institution". 

 

April 3: 16 people, including HDP Youth Council members and Democratic Modernity Magazine employee Sema Korkmaz, were detained in Istanbul. While 15 of the citizens who were transferred to the courthouse on April 6 were released on condition of judicial control, HDP Esenyurt District Organization director Sedat Uğraş was arrested.

 

April 4: Three people were detained in the raids on the grounds of sharing social media in the Qoser (Kızıltepe) and Nisêbîn (Nusaybin) districts of Merdin. Şükriye Göktürk, Serhat Senor and Botan Sarıboğa, whose police statements were taken, were released on April 5. As part of an investigation conducted by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 15 people, 8 of them children, were detained. 8 police officers and 7 of the detainees were released after the prosecutor's interrogation.

 

April 14: In the house raids carried out simultaneously by the police in the Gever ( Yüksekova) district of Colemêrg, 15 young people were detained on charges of "opposing the law on meeting and demonstration marches" and "resistance to public officials''. The youth were released after their statements were taken at the Yüksekova District Police Department.

 

April 18: HDP Cizîr Municipality Co-Mayor Berivan Kutlu and a citizen named Agit Malgaz, who were replaced by a trustee in the Cizîr district of Şırnak, were detained by the police in front of their house. Kutlu and Malgaz were released the next day after the statements made at the Cizre District Police Department.

 

JOURNALISTS ARRESTED

 

April 29: 18 people were detained in 15 provinces within the scope of the investigation initiated by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against 49 people. 5 people, including DFG Co-chair Dicle Müftüoğlu and MA editor Sedat Yılmaz, who were detained in Amed as part of the detention operation, were arrested by the court they were brought to on May 3, while 13 people were released on the condition of judicial control in the form of signature and travel ban.

 

April 30: 23 people were detained in the Istanbul and Eskişehir-based police operations against ESP, SGDF and ETHA. Green Left Party Eskişehir MP Candidate Müslüm Koyun, ESP Co-Chair Şahin Tümüklü, ETHA editor Nadiye Gürbüz, and ESP members Kalender Polat, Sinem Çelebi, Adnan Özcan, Selvinaz Göçmez were arrested among 23 people who were referred to the court for arrest on May 3. Green Left Party parliamentary candidates Burcu Ayyıldız and Meryem Yıldırım, as well as 14 people, were released under house arrest and judicial control conditions.

 

DETENTIONS CONTINUE

 

May 2: At least 32 people, including People's Democratic Congress (HDK), HDP, Green Left Party Youth Council members and executives, were detained on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" within the scope of the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and issued an arrest warrant for 39 people.

 

3 May: Police raided some houses in the Nur, Barbaros and Cumhuriyet neighborhoods of Silopiya (Silopi) district, pursuant to an investigation conducted by the Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. After the searches made in the houses, Mehmet D., Rıdvan D., Özcan K., Umut Ö. Many people, whose names were not known, were detained.

 

May 4: HDP Gebze District Co-chair Ömer Yıldız, who was detained in Gebze district of Kocaeli, and party members Kasım Çağlar, Mahmut Çalıkıc, Mehmet Göktaş and Uğur Gezer were arrested on charges of making "terrorist propaganda".

 

May 4: Şerzan Yelboğa, one of the 5 lawyers who testified as part of the Amed-based investigation, was arrested. Together with Yelboğa, the number of lawyers arrested increased to 4.

 

May 4: 14 young people from the Green Left Party, who were carrying out election campaigns in Adana, were beaten and detained. 14 people were released after their statements were taken at the police station.

 

MA / Tolga Güney