People gathered in Amara village of Urfa to celebrate the birthday of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on April 4. Those staying in the house of Kurdish leader’s brother Mehmet Öcalan were besieged and ordered to go out by the gendarmerie forces. When the people refused, gendarmeries raided the house and detained 5 people including DBP (Democratic Regions’ Party) Urfa Co-chair Bekir Karakeçili and journalist Hacı Yusuf Topaloğlu.

Late Tuesday evening, 4 HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) executives for Urfa’s Bozova district were also detained in Amara. Efforts made by HDP Urfa MP Dilek Öcalan, niece of the Kurdish leader, for the release of detainees did not yield results.