Detention period has been extended for dozens of people who were arrested yesterday in Istanbul during a rally marking the fifth anniversary of the ISIS massacre in Urfa’s Suruç district which killed 33 young people. The police used massive violence against the rally, using tear gas and rubber bullets. Initially, there was talk of some twenty protesters being taken to Vatan police station. It later came out that a total of 54 people had been taken into custody during the police crackdown.
Lawyer Ferat Boğatekin stated that six of those arrested have been released from custody; two minors and four lawyers. Boğatekin, co-chair of the Libertarian Lawyers Association (ÖHD) Istanbul branch, said that the police violence had continued also in custody. A large number of the detainees were initially held and beaten in the police bus for several hours with their hands tied behind their backs. Some of them had sometimes severe hematomas and bruises on various parts of their bodies. Two lawyers who visited their clients at the police station were also victims of violence. Boğatekin said they would take legal action against the police.
The attack in Suruç on 20 July 2015 occurred when, at the call of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF), 300 young people gathered at the Amara Cultural Centre to hold a press conference before their departure for Kobanê. The planned trip to Northern Syria was intended to be an act of solidarity. The young people wanted to take children's toys and humanitarian aid supplies to the city destroyed by the ISIS. To mark the fifth anniversary of the massacre, commemoration ceremonies and demonstrations took place in many places in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey on Monday. Apart from Istanbul, there were also demonstrations at the scene of the attack - the Amara Cultural Centre in Suruç and in Ankara, where the police attacked crowds and arrested several people.