On the fringes of a planned demonstration to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the international conspiracy of 9 October 1998, the Turkish police violently attacked parliamentarians and media workers in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari on Sunday. HDP MP Habip Eksik was punched in the face and dragged along the ground, suffering a bleeding nose. His parliamentary group colleague Sait Dede was also attacked. According to reports, 20 people were taken into custody in the crackdown.

The demonstration was promoted by the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) and the DBP (Democratic Regions Party) as well as the TJA (Free Women's Movement) under the motto "We march for freedom". The aim of the initiative is to send a signal against the Turkish state's war policy, to demand the lifting of Abdullah Öcalan's incommunicado detention and the resumption of peace negotiations and conditions for the PKK founder in which he can live and work freely in order to contribute to the solution of the Kurdish question. The police broke up the planned demonstration before it began.

JOURNALISTS ALSO ATTACKED AND DETAINED

The police also used violence against members of the media. The persons concerned are Rabia Önver from the women's news agency JinNews and the MA (Mezopotamya Agency) reporter Mazlum Engindeniz. They are in police custody with other people, including the co-chair of HDP Yüksekova branch, Şoreş Diri. Member of Parliament Habip Eksik was taken to hospital and given a plaster cast due to a broken leg. The 37-year-old politician has announced that he would take legal action against the Yüksekova police.

PLOT AGAINST ÖCALAN

9 October marks the anniversary of the forced departure of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1998 and thus the beginning of the international conspiracy that led to the PKK leader's abduction to Turkey on 15 February 1999. Since then, Öcalan has been held as a political hostage on the prison island of Imrali, most of the time under conditions of total isolation.