URFA - Stating that 23 people were arrested in Pirsûs(Suruç) with a fake file prepared with political motives, lawyer Meliscan Güneş said: "The political power is trying to silence the voice of the opposition through detention and arrest operations, as it does before every election."

 

25 people, including Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) district co-chairs, were detained in house raids in Riha(Urfa)'s Pirsûs (Suruç) district on March 27. In the Urfa Courthouse, where they were transferred on March 30, an arrest warrant was issued for 23 people on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "providing finance to the organization". Only a witness statement and telephone tapes were cited as evidence for the arrest of politicians.

 

PERCEPTION OPERATION

 

Meliscan Güneş, the lawyer of DBP Pirsûs District Co-chair Rojda Binici, who was arrested within the scope of the file, said: "The file was an investigation initiated by the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on November 27, 2022. The two of the prisoners were released directly after the statements made in the law enforcement, while the others were arrested on March 30. When we look at the content of the file, we see that it is a fake file prepared with political motives. There is no evidence in this file other than abstract witness statements and daily phone conversations. We see that the statements of the witness are completely abstract, generally accepted and printed. There is no other evidence in the file. Even those in their 60s are among those arrested. They were arrested only on the abstract statements of a witness. This is against the law and is not sufficient for an arrest."

 

'THEY ARE TRYING TO SILENCE THE VOICE OF THE OPPOSITIONS'

 

Mentioning that people were arrested for allegedly "being members of a terrorist organization", Güneş said: "Actually, when we look at the contents of the file, we see that there are no elements of the crime of being a member of an organization. They are trying to create a perception by criminalizing old and ill people and arresting them on membership charges."

 

Noting that many people arrested in the file are HDP and DBP members, Güneş said: “Actually, the aim of this file is the upcoming elections. It is meant to cast a shadow over and disrupt the election work in Suruç. As before every election, the political power is trying to silence the voice of the opposition with detention and arrest operations."