Turkish police raid DEM Party office in eastern Iğdır province, detain eight

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Police in Turkey’s eastern Iğdır province on Oct. 10 raided the local headquarters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and detained eight members including co-chair Mehmet Selçuk.

Police set up barriers around the building, and prohibited entry. The operation was part of an ongoing investigation into the 2015 bomb attack that killed 13 police officers near the Dilucu border gate in Iğdır, according to reporting by Anadolu Agency (AA).

Police detained eight suspects including DEM Party Provincial Chair Mehmet Selçuk, were taken into custody during the morning operation. 

 A statement from the DEM Party headquarters said, "The police and judiciary, now acting as tools of the government, continue to block the right to democratic politics with every step they take. These efforts are in vain. You will not break even a single one of our members with targeted arrests and detentions!"

Following the operation, the Iğdır Governor’s Office announced a ban on meetings, demonstrations, and marches across the province from 6:00 a.m. on October 10 until 11:59 p.m. on October 14. The statement also noted that groups arriving in the provincial center for protests and those traveling collectively between districts would be prevented.

After police concluded their search, party members who entered the building found beer bottles and condoms on the floor. Party members claimed that the bottles and condoms had been left by police during the search.

In the southeastern Antep province on the following Oct. 11, police detained DEM Party co-chair of the Şahinbey district Mustafa Tuç, pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) provincial co-chair Mehmet Özkan, and DBP Şahinbey co-chair Müslüm Denizhan.

Tuç, Özkan, and Denizhan were stopped while driving and taken into custody, subsequently being transferred to the anti-terror branch in Antep.