At least eight young activists were taken into custody on Tuesday morning in the Kurdish province of Amed (tr. Diyarbakır following a demonstration held over the weekend, which was organized by the Democratic Patriotic Youth Platform (DYGP) under the slogan “For a Free Life With the Leader of Freedom”.
At a security meeting in Amed the day before, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya had publicly criticized the participants in the campaign and sharply attacked them in his speech. Less than 24 hours later, house searches were carried out at several addresses in the city.
According to the DYGP, those detained are members of the Youth Council of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). It is unclear what they are specifically accused of. The lawyers for the detainees stated that the case is subject to a confidentiality clause and that a 24-hour contact ban has been imposed on the young people, during which time they have no access to legal representation.
The demonstration, which Yerlikaya objected to, took place on Saturday in Amed. It called for the freedom of PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan, who was named as the main player in the Kurdish question. The solution lies in recognizing Öcalan’s role as a key negotiating partner. If access to him is granted, the chances of peace and a political solution will increase, according to the organizers of the protest.