Forty four people remanded in custody in Istanbul - UPDATE
Forty four people remanded in custody in Istanbul - UPDATE
Following the detentions within the scope of the KCK case, 44 people including publisher and human rights defender Ragýp Zarakolu, BDP PM member academician Prof. Büþra Ersanlý and Özgür Gündem worker Songül Karataðna have been remanded in custody by the court for allegedly being "member of an illegal organization".
While three of the detainees were released by Istanbul 14th High Criminal Vacation Court,lawyers protested the court’s decision with applauses.
All the people who have been detained or arrested within the scope of the KCK operation are accused of being KCK member or executives. Police and Prosecutor claim that BDP Politics Academy raises cadres for the KCK (Kurdish Communities Union).
About eight thousands active BDP members have been taken into custody and among them five thousand have been arrested within the scope of detention and arrest terror since the local elections in March 2009. Among those arrested are a large number of deputies, mayors, academicians, human rights defenders, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish intellectuals have launched a petition campaign to protest the detention of Professor Ersanlý and to call for her release. A joint statement by the group said the detention of Ersanlý led to outrage among all circles in the country that believe in the democratic state of law.
“The detention of Professor Büþra Ersanlý is a heavy blow dealt to Turkey's efforts towards a real democracy with equality, peace, social justice and academic and political freedoms. We demand the immediate release of Professor Büþra Ersanlý and all other jailed politicians, academics and journalists who work for peace, democratic rights and freedoms in our country. The detention and arrest of people without any concrete and serious evidence under the primitive mentality of ‘though crimes' is against human rights,” the statement said.
Among the intellectuals who have signed the joint statement are Ahmet Ýnsel, Ali Bayramoðlu, Cengiz Aktar, Cengiz Çandar, Hülya Gülbahar, Murat Belge, Mithat Sancar, Oral Çalýþlar, Ümit Cizre, Baskýn Oran, Fuat Keyman and Yaþar Kemal.
While three of the detainees were released by Istanbul 14th High Criminal Vacation Court,lawyers protested the court’s decision with applauses.
All the people who have been detained or arrested within the scope of the KCK operation are accused of being KCK member or executives. Police and Prosecutor claim that BDP Politics Academy raises cadres for the KCK (Kurdish Communities Union).
About eight thousands active BDP members have been taken into custody and among them five thousand have been arrested within the scope of detention and arrest terror since the local elections in March 2009. Among those arrested are a large number of deputies, mayors, academicians, human rights defenders, journalists and intellectuals.
Turkish intellectuals have launched a petition campaign to protest the detention of Professor Ersanlý and to call for her release. A joint statement by the group said the detention of Ersanlý led to outrage among all circles in the country that believe in the democratic state of law.
“The detention of Professor Büþra Ersanlý is a heavy blow dealt to Turkey's efforts towards a real democracy with equality, peace, social justice and academic and political freedoms. We demand the immediate release of Professor Büþra Ersanlý and all other jailed politicians, academics and journalists who work for peace, democratic rights and freedoms in our country. The detention and arrest of people without any concrete and serious evidence under the primitive mentality of ‘though crimes' is against human rights,” the statement said.
Among the intellectuals who have signed the joint statement are Ahmet Ýnsel, Ali Bayramoðlu, Cengiz Aktar, Cengiz Çandar, Hülya Gülbahar, Murat Belge, Mithat Sancar, Oral Çalýþlar, Ümit Cizre, Baskýn Oran, Fuat Keyman and Yaþar Kemal.
