On 24 September, 30 people were detained in raids on the Mesopotamia Language and Culture Research Association (MED-DER), Payîz Pirtûk, Anka Language and Art Education Cooperative and many houses in Amed (Diyarbakır).

The bar associations of Diyarbakır, Ağrı, Batman, Mardin, Urfa, Şırnak and Van released a statement denouncing the raids and detentions.

The statement by the Kurdish Language Commissions of the bar associations said: “This operation is directed against the Kurdish language. Work on the Kurdish language is criminalised and this causes the Kurdish people to stay away from work to develop their own language. Although there is no legal obstacle to the Kurdish language, the use of the Kurdish language is being prevented through illegalities and de facto obstructions. It is not a crime to work on the Kurdish language. It is the most fundamental right of every Kurd to speak and live his/her mother tongue in every field. We will continue to defend this right everywhere.”

“As the language commissions of the bar associations, we say that the house raids against Kurdish language instructors and the raiding of their institutions are unlawful, and those detained should be released immediately,” the statement added.