Seven musicians have been in police custody in the western Turkish city of Aydın since Sunday. The arrests took place following a Newroz celebration in the Efeler district. The people concerned, including singers Veysel Ciwan and Serhat Kural, are accused of having sung "forbidden songs". It is not yet known which songs are involved.

Some of the musicians were taken into custody at the central bus station in Aydın as they were leaving the city, while others were collected at the airport. The detention period had initially been set at 24 hours in all cases. Questioning is expected to begin later today.

Arbitrary arrests of artists during celebrations of the Kurdish New Year, Newroz, are not uncommon. Detentions often happen in the run-up to the celebrations. In Istanbul, singer Çiya Şenses was temporarily detained during a police raid on Friday. According to the artist, the action was justified by a preliminary investigation from 2012. Şenses was released only on Saturday following a public prosecutor's questioning.