Extensive arrest operations took place in the provinces of Bitlis and Van on 28 November in the scope of an investigation launched by the Bitlis Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. As many as 110 people were taken into custody, including women and children. Some of the detainees were taken to Bitlis police headquarters and then brought before the courts.

Over fifty people were remanded in custody on charges of membership, support or financing of a terrorist organisation. The detainees are said to have been mistreated in police custody and denied access to lawyers.

During the raids, the house of a septuagenarian man suffering from visual impairment was also raided in the village of Şên, in Hizan district. The soldiers destroyed the front door and windows and searched the house for hours. When it turned out that it was a case of misinformation, the family was threatened so that they would not press charges against the military.