Police raid HDP district office in Istanbul as crackdown against party continues
The police on March 23 raided the pro-Kurdish HDP’s office in Istanbul’s Kartal district and confiscated magazines and photographs.
Duvar English
The police on March 23 raided the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)'s office in Istanbul's Kartal district.
The move came as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with the allegation that the relevant HDP officials were "praising the crime and the criminal,” Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
During the raid that lasted for hours, the police confiscated the photographs of Deniz Gezmiş, İbrahim Kaypakkaya, and the magazines Democratic Modernity and Jineology.
Afterwards, party members and many citizens gathered in front of the district building and protested the raid. A clash ensued between the police and crowd chanting "HDP is the people, the people are here."
On the evening of the raid, HDP members held a press statement in front of the district office with the participation of several other party members.
HDP Istanbul Provincial co-chair Ferhat Encü said that the raid came shortly after the Newroz celebrations in the city.
“You arrested our co-chairs, you arrested our deputies, you appointed trustees to municipalities. You have detained thousands of people. But we will not give up this struggle. Because this struggle is the struggle of humanity. This struggle is the struggle for freedom and democracy. It is the rightful struggle of the Kurdish people who have been oppressed and murdered for a hundred years,” Encü stated.