Police raided several houses in Nuremberg early in the morning and long-time Kurdish activist Tahir Köçer was arrested. The Medya Volkshaus e.V. and private apartments were searched.

The Fed-Gel association, which is organized in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, condemned the searches and the arrest as an "attempt at criminalization and suppression". The renewed repression is "disappointing for the Kurdish people," Fed-Gel said in a statement, emphasizing that "the Kurdish people should have the natural right to organize and fight on the basis of legitimate self-defense."

The association accused the German government of complicity with the Turkish state and condemned its silence on the crimes committed in Kurdistan. “It is not up to the German state to criminalize people who flee genocide. As Kurds living in the diaspora, we expect the federal government to listen to us and work with us to find solutions to our problems. Instead, Germany behaves like the extended arm of the Turkish state.”

Fed-Gel demands respect for Kurdish institutions and the immediate release of Tahir Köçer.

Who is Tahir Kocer?

Tahir Köçer is a member of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and was co-chair of the nationwide association KON-MED until June 2021. In these functions, he has appeared publicly at events in Germany for many years, such as last June at the forum “28 years PKK ban on activities. Now let's talk!” in Berlin. As co-chair of KON-MED, in the run-up to the federal elections in 2021, he formulated the Kurdish community's demands and expectations of the competing parties.