Ten people from Kobanê, including 6 who were receiving treatment for their wounds and a child, who were arrested two days ago, have been taken to court in Urfa.

The 6 people who were wounded in clashes on various dates in Kobanê, had entered Turkey legally and were registered with AFAD, were arrested on 2 December in a farm house where they were receiving treatment along with 3 companions and the owner of the house, Mustafa Çiçek. After more than 48 hours in police custody the 10 people were sent to the Urfa Courthouse.

Accused of being members of illegal organisation

Those who were arrested did not even have the dressings on their wounds changed. Lawyer Sevda Çelik Özbingöl said the arrested persons had been accused of ‘membership of an illegal armed organisation’ and asked who had taken them there, looked after them and fed them. She said most of those arrested had exercised their right to silence, adding that the questions they had been asked bore no relation to the accusation levelled.

One of the accused is a child

Lawyer Özbingöl said that apart from Mustafa Çiçek, a university student and one of the wounded, the other 5 wounded and two companions were from Kobanê. She said that one was only 16 and had been taken to the Children’s branch and was constantly crying on account of police persecution.

‘I used a false ID because my family didn’t know I was here’

Bingöl said that one of the wounded was from North Kurdistan and had said in his statement that: “As my family didn’t know I was here I had to conceal my identity”. Özbingöl said that for this reason the wounded person had been subjected to various accusations that were not legal.

She added that the 10 people who had already suffered were being made to suffer further, concluding by saying that they would give statements to the prosecutor at the court.