Protest ban declared in 12 provinces after verdict in Kobanê case
The governors of 12 provinces including Diyarbakır, Mardin, Dersim, Bingöl, Bitlis, Kars, and İzmir banned all kinds of demonstrations, meetings, and protests following the Kobanê Trial in which Kurdish politicians were sentenced to imprisonment.
Duvar English
A 4-day protest ban was declared in Turkey's 12 provinces following the final hearing in the Kobanê case of Kurdish politicians on May 16.
In the final trial of the Kobanê case, a Turkish court has sentenced several Kurdish politicians, including Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, Ahmet Türk, Gültan Kışanak, to prison.
In Diyarbakır province, one of the strongholds of the Kurdish political movement, the governor’s office announced that demonstrations, open and closed meetings, and all kinds of protests are banned until May 20.
The governor’s office referred to the Kobanê case in the statement and stated that there were "terrorist organization sympathizers, marginal and radical groups who want to repeat the grave events that took place in the city before."
The governor also announced that "persons and vehicles that are understood to have come to Diyarbakır to participate in these protests" were banned from entering the province.
In similar statements, the governor’s offices of Mardin, Siirt, Dersim, Bingöl, Bitlis, Kars, Hakkari, İzmir, Muş, Adana, and Batman provinces announced a ban on all meetings and demonstrations for four days until May 20.
Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan said that they would assemble in Adana, Diyarbakır and Istanbul on May 18 with the slogan "Democracy for all, freedom for all."