23 people detained in police crackdown in Batman
As many as 23 people were taken into custody in Batman, where a demonstration for the strengthening of Kurdish national unity was attacked by police with tear gas and water cannons.
Using water cannons and tear gas, Turkish police in Batman province took brutal action to break up a demonstration to promote Kurdish national unity on Friday. The crackdown resulted in targeted attacks by security forces on smaller groups on the fringes of the demonstration. The attacks focused primarily on members of parliament as well as activists from the Peace Mothers Initiative.
The demonstration was organized by an alliance of the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), its sister party DBP (Democratic Regions Party), civil society association DTK (Democratic Society Congress and the Free Women's Movement (TJA). Among those taking part were figures such as DBP co-chairs Saliha Aydeniz and Keskin Bayındır, DTK co-chair Berdan Öztürk and HDP deputy Dersim Dağ.
Despite massive police violence, the crowd moved to the headquarters of the HDP provincial association. 23 people participating in the march were detained by the police forces during the crackdown. The detainees are being held in the provincial police department.
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