Evrensel journalist Hasan Akbaş, Cumhuriyet journalist Pınar Öğünç and İlker Denizyüce from a German newspaper were taken under custody after they asked Urfa Governor İzettin Küçük to provide evidence on his claims that PYD had caused civilians to escape from Girê Spî.

Urfa Governor İzettin Küçük organized a press conference during his visit to Akçakale Border Gate where Turkish police began to take precautions only after the liberation of Girê Spî from ISIS gangs. In his statement, Governor Küçük claimed that 23 thousand civilians escaped from Girê Spî because of PYD pressures. Evrensel journalist Hasan Akbaş asked the governor why ISIS was not seen as a threat to people in the region and whether they could have role in the civilians’ escape. In response, Vali Küçük said that it was PYD that caused the civilians’ escape. Journalist İlker Denizyüce asked whether the governorship had any documents that illustrated the PYD’s role in the escape of civilians. The governor then turned to his guards and ordered them to “carry out the necessary process.” The governor’s guards took journalists Akbaş, Denizyüce and Pınar Öğünç under custody and took them to Akçakale Police Headquarters in a police car.

7th Corps Commander General İbrahim Yılmaz also came to the border gate to inspect the border areas through which civilians have been crossing into Turkey. A wounded 10 years-old child from Rojava came to the border during Yılmaz’s inspection and was taken to a hospital in Urfa in a civilian’s car. During this incident, it became obvious that the 112 Emergency ambulances that had been stationed at the border gate during YPG-YPJ’s attack on the gangs were no longer in the area after the liberation of Girê Spî.

Lastly, a Human Rights Association committee led by Raci Bilici came to the border gate but was prevented from having access to the area. After this, Bilici stated that they had observed grave human rights violations over the past three days and journalists merely asking questions were being taken under custody. The IHD committee left the border gate after Bilici said that their security of life did not exist at the crossing and that they could not organize a proper press conference.