Thirteen people accused of membership in the “officially dissolved” PKK

On 17 February, numerous people working in democratic institutions were detained in house raids conducted across Istanbul. During the raids, 13 individuals were taken into custody under torture.

Those detained, whose police interrogations began the following day, were accused of being members of the PKK, which dissolved itself at its congress held on May 12, 2025, and were asked questions about carrying out activities on behalf of a non-existent organization.

Ishak Demirel, Co-Chair of the Istanbul Branch of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), who attended his clients’ police statements, said that what had taken place was aimed at criminalizing the ground of democratic struggle. Demirel stated that various justifications were being produced to exert pressure on democratic Kurdish politics and added that the operations “mean nothing other than sabotaging the Peace and Democratic Society process.”