At least 35 people arrested in KCK operation

KCK operation in Mersin and further five cities
At least 35 people have been taken into custody early Tuesday morning in simultaneous Mersin centered KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) operations in six cities.

Among those arrested are Dicle News Agency reporter Ferhat Arslan, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chairs Musa Kullu and Aynur A?an, BDP PM members, Human Rights Association (IHD) Mersin Branch Chair Ali Tanr?verdi, Akdeniz Municipality workers, MKM (Mesopotamia Cultural Center) members as well as BDP executives and members.

Police teams of Mersin Anti-Terror Branch have carried out simultaneous raids at around 05:00 this morning in the province of Mersin. BDP Akdeniz Municipality’s ??tar Counseling Center for Women’s Solidarity, BDP Mersin Politics Academy, BDP Mersin office and more than 40 other addresses were raided with the support of special operation and mobile force police teams.
Detainees, with 32 being from Mersin and three others from surrounding provinces, were taken to Mersin State Hospital for treatment.

Thousands of people have been arrested in the scope of so-called KCK operations which started in the April of 2009, one month after the local elections where Kurds achieved a historic success. Six deputies of the BDP, over 30 mayors, dozens of journalists, around 70 unionists, over 30 lawyers, a number of human rights defenders and intellectuals as well as hundreds of woman activists, students and children have been under arrest since the beginning of the operations.

On the other hand, four people were taken into custody at the guest house of Dersim Municipality at early morning hours today. The reason for detentions hasn’t been disclosed yet.

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