German police search Kurdish association and apartments in Lahr

In the district of Lahr in Baden-Württemberg, the Democratic Kurdish Community Center and several private residences were searched by police early Wednesday morning. This was reported by the Kurdish umbrella organization FCK (Federation of Kurdistan Communities). According to the report, cell phones, computers and other items were confiscated during the search of the Kurdish association and in five apartments.

The FCK association, which unites Kurdish organizations from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, condemned the searches ordered by the Karlsruhe District Court as early as June 2, 2021, as unlawful, stating, “According to our information, the measure was taken based on a complaint from the fascist Turkish state. We know that the searches are the result of the sordid relations between the German government and the Turkish state.” The association assessed the repression against the Kurdish movement in Germany as part of the Erdogan government’s attacks on Kurds aimed at genocide. Kurds who fled the genocide are affected by the searches.

One of those affected is Mesut Aslan from the board of the Kurdish Community Center. His apartment was also searched at seven in the morning. According to him, the measure was justified by the use of banned flags in the period 2017 to 2019. In some apartments, sniffer dogs were used, and flags were confiscated in the association premises.

Aslan assumes that the searches were carried out under pressure from the Turkish consulate: “The police have said that the public prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe has started investigations after a complaint from the Turkish consulate. I replied that we are being attacked and our associations criminalized on the orders of the Turkish state. The searches are a result of that. We do not accept this.”

Mesut Aslan is to be deported because of his political activities. He is accused of organizing events and registering rallies. Since August 2020, he has had to sign in with the police once a week and is not allowed to leave the region.

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