As part of the lawsuit against the MEBYA-DER solidarity association, five people have been arrested in Van who had been released from custody only a week ago. Their homes have been stormed by the police for the second time within a few weeks.
On May 19, 18 people were taken into custody in Van province in connection with an investigation against the MEBYA-DER solidarity association. Five of them were brought before the court on May 28 and released on registration charges. The public prosecutor's office has appealed against this, which is why the apartments were stormed again by the police early this morning. Cevdet Bilekçi, Halil Karakoç, Kamuran Çiftçi, Mahmut Dindar and Savaş Encü were taken into custody and brought before the magistrate again. Arrest warrants were issued for all five defendants who were then sent to the Van Prison Complex. This brings the number of people arrested in the case to eleven, accused of "membership in a terrorist organization."
MEBYA-DER is a solidarity association for people who have lost loved ones in the Kurdish liberation struggle and has been the focus of state repression in Turkey for some time. "Aid and Solidarity Association for People Who Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations" is the full name of the association, which has branches in several Kurdish cities. The Turkish state turns fallen guerrilla fighters into a means of psychological warfare by vandalizing graves and maltreating or mutilating the bodies of the martyrs. MEBYA-DER is one of the institutions that directly opposes this policy.
