On 26 September 2022, two fighters of the Free Women's Troops (YJA Star) carried out an action of self-sacrifice against a Turkish police base in Mersin. Sara Goyî and Rûken Zelal sacrificed their lives in the spectacular action, which shook politics in Turkey. The Turkish Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu, travelled there in person and spread the news that one of those involved was Zozan Tolan (Dilşah Ercan).

HPG: False reports show weakness of the Turkish secret service

The People's Defence Forces (HPG) said: "The AKP/MHP government could not find out the names of our friends who carried out this action. This shows how weak its intelligence service is. Although it knew that our friend Zozan Tolan was not involved in the action, the government deliberately named her and wanted to use her as a bargaining chip against her family and other circles. Our friend Zozan has nothing to do with this incident, she continues to do her job. The AKP/MHP government has arrested many people because of this action and is trying to take revenge on the people through pressure and torture. It is doing this to hide its failure against our self-sacrificing guerrilla team and cover up the incident."

Repression based on false allegations

After the announcement of Zozan Tolan's alleged participation in the action, the regime stormed the homes of Tolan's family members. Twenty-two people, including Tolan's father, her mother, three brothers, three sisters and their spouses were arrested. After days of police detention, twelve of them were released.

Interior Minister spreads conspiracy theories

The conspiracy theories that the Interior Minister is forced to spread show how much pressure he is under after the action. After the HPG announced the identities of the militants involved, Interior Minister Soylu tried to justify himself by saying that Tolan had been identified by a taxi driver. Soylu claimed that the action had originated in the USA and that the fighters had come to Tarsus with paragliders from Manbij in northern Syria.

Zozan Tolan: "I continue to carry out my duties"

While the debates are still ongoing, former journalist and current guerrilla Zozan Tolan commented on the situation to ANF. She stated: "First of all, I bow to the deeds of the martyrs Sara and Rûken and their action carried out in Mersin-Mezitli. With them, I would like to commemorate all the martyrs. As a fighter of YJA Star and HPG, we will follow them with greater self-sacrificing actions." Regarding the allegations made by Interior Minister Soylu, Tolan said, "Our organisation has already explained everything necessary. I continue to carry out my duties. The struggle against the fascist AKP/MHP regime is the most important task for me as for all other Kurdish guerrilla fighters. I declare that I will be worthy of this task."

Tolan: "I am fighting because there is no democratic way anymore"

Tolan talked about her path to becoming a guerrilla: "I was arrested as a journalist. That is true. But the practices of the fascist AKP/MHP regime in Turkey and Kurdistan have eliminated the possibilities to tell the truth to the people and to have a legal democratic struggle for it. Because of this reality, many young people from Kurdistan are taking to the mountains to settle accounts with this fascist regime. I am one of them."