Eleven people, three of them children, were detained during house raids carried out by police in Bingöl and Mersin. The Youth Cultural Center in Mersin was also raided by police.

Mersin Police Department Anti-Terror Branch police raided some houses at around 5:00 a.m. in the morning in Þevketsümer Neighborhood of Mersin. Searching the houses, police took two children aged 17 and Ebru Bayram under custody. While two children who were detained for allegedly “holding pirate demonstration on behalf of organization” were taken to Police Department, Ebru Bayram was taken to Anti-Terror Branch, reported.

The Youth Cultural Center active in city center was also raided and searched by police at the same time. While there weren’t any detentions here, Mediterranean Migration Association Chair Selahattin Güvenç and Human Rights Association Mersin Branch Chairman Ali Tanrýverdi made a get-well visit to the cultural center.

Raiding a number of houses in Bingöl center and Solhan County at early morning hours, police detained a child aged 17, Sýdýk Yurtsever, Ferdi Çeçen, Sabri Bazencir, Zeki Yalçýn, Ýsa Yalçýn, Hikmet Günay and BDP City Administrator Emin Çeçen. While the reason of detentions was not notified, 8 people were taken to Bingöl Police Department.

Translation: Berna Ozgencil