ISTANBUL- 25 people who were detained for organising a march from Kadıköy to Gemlik were referred to the courthouse after their statements were taken without an attorney.

 

Nearly 70 people were detained during the March to Gemlik in Kadıköy to end the isolation imposed upon PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and ensure his freedom, organised by Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Tevgere Jinên Azad (TJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Med Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations with the Families of prisoners and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED). Those who were battered and detained were taken to the Istanbul Security Directorate on Vatan Street. The detainees were kept waiting in police vehicles and denied food and water. It was also learned that many people were battered inside the police vehicles.

 

THE ATTORNEYS STAGED A SIT-IN

 

The attorneys who went to the security directorate to see their clients were not allowed in the building. Many people, including attorneys who are members of the Association for Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), waited at the police station to meet with their clients. The police wanted to let the attorneys in, in groups of seven. However, the attorneys protested the situation and said that this was an arbitrary practice, so the attorneys staged a sit-in in front of the police station.

 

THEIR STATEMENTS WERE TAKEN WITHOUT ATTORNEYS

 

The statements of the detainees were taken without an attorney present. While dozens of people were released, 25 people are still in custody. The detainees are expected to be brought to the courthouse within the next day to take their statements at the prosecutor's office. The names of those detained are as follows: HDP Istanbul Provincial Organisation Co-Chair Ferhat Encu, Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Co-Chair Özlem Gümüştaş, Revolutionary Party general Vice-President Burcugül Çubuk, Eylem Çelik, Onal Yusufoğlu, Rıdvan Karataş, Adem Gözöngü, Elif Bulut, Erhan Bayrak , Yaşar Gül, Mürüvet Küçük, Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar, Koray Turkan, Sedat Şenoğlu, Nevzat Yeziz, Pınar Türk, Ezgi Gürbüz, Hatice Deniz Aktaş, Ali İpekli, Halis Bingöl, Reşat Ayata, Mehmet Masyon, Ali Emre Ecer, Roni Gören, İsmail Temel.