Man threatened by officers naming his jailed wife

Mehmet Yönay, who worked as an administrator for 8 years at the Med Culture and Arts Association, was threatened by officers naming his detained wife when he was called for his social media activity in the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command.

The threats issued by the government against Kurdish politicians artists extend to artists.

Mehmet Yönay, who worked for a long time at Mesopotamia Culture Center (MKM) as well as at the Med Culture and Art Association (Med-Der) for 8 years was threatened when called by Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command. Med-Der has been closed by Decree-Law (KHK).

Speaking to ANF, Yönay said that the gendarmerie called him on a newly bought number that nobody knew about.

After informing his lawyer, Yönay went to give his statement. "I went to Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command. - he said - They put 8-page social media posts in front of me. They were all news about the latest developments in Rojava and they presented them as if they were crimes. My statement was taken by three plain clothes persons. When I asked them to identify themselves, they just replied, 'leave it with us'. They called each other 'sir'. When I asked why I was called to the Gendarmerie and not to the Police, they said that they were working with the Police and that there was an investigation against me in Diyarbakır about my posts in social media. Some of the posts they showed were actually not mine either. One of them asked me if my wife was 'inside', referring to the fact that my wife has been in prison for 1,5 years in Kandıra Prison No. 2. When I said yes, he said, ‘If your wife is inside, why are you posting this stuff? It would be better for you not to post things."

After not obtaining what they wanted, the officers left Yönay go after the visit to the hospital.

Yönay said he was not worried for himself but for his wife in prison. “I was summoned by the Gendarmerie, not the Police. Can you imagine? Sharing a photo of a Rojava mother crying is a crime. They are not happy with having detained my wife, they are looking ways to arrest me as well."