22 people detained during police raids on language and culture associations in Amed

As part of an investigation conducted by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the police raided the Mesopotamia Language and Culture Research Association (MED-DER) and Payîz Pirtûk bookstore in Amed (Diyarbakır) in the morning. Several executives and Kurdish language instructors, including MED-DER co-chairs, were detained within the scope of the investigation. It is reported that the investigation was initiated in 2022 based on the statements of Ümit Akbıyık, an open witness who came to the agenda with his false statements in many cases, and a secret witness, and has been going on for 2 years.

As part of the investigation, the Anka Language and Art Education Cooperative, which organises multilingual education and art workshops in Bağcılar neighbourhood of Bağlar district, was also raided. It is stated that hard-discs of the computers in the Cooperative building were seized during the raid.

According to reports, there is a confidentiality order on the case file and the detainees’ access to lawyers will be restricted for 24 hours.

22 people were reported detained during the raids, including MED-DER co-chairs Mehmet Remzi Azizoğlu and Şükran Yakut.