Houses and offices of many politicians and lawyers were raided by the police early this morning in Urfa, Diyarbakır and Şırnak. 2 lawyers from Diyarbakır, one lawyer from Şınrak and 7 lawyers from Urfa were taken into custody. It was learned that those who were detained in Diyarbakır and Şırnak will be taken to Urfa. While it was stated that the number of detainees will increase, it was recorded that there was a 'confidentiality decision' about the investigation against the lawyers and politicians.

 

Urfa Bar Association President Abdullah Öncel, who reacted to the detention of lawyers, noted that detentions continue in many cities in the region over social media accounts.

 

Diyarbakır Bar Association President Cihan Aydın, on the other hand, stated that there were warrants against his 4 colleagues from his twitter account and said: "With the instruction of Urfa Prosecutor's Office, there are warrants against 4 of our colleagues. Their houses and offices were raided and searched at the crack of dawn and their files were confiscated. They detained 2 of our colleagues."

 

ÖHD: DEFENSE CAN NOT BE SILENCED

 

Another reaction came from Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) Diyarbakır Branch. ÖHD said; "Many of our colleagues, including members of our association in Diyarbakır and Urfa, were detained this morning. While the pressures against our profession and our professional practice are increasing, we repeat, #DefenseCannotBeSilenced. Our colleagues must be released immediately. The investigation about our colleagues is based in Urfa. We state that we will follow up the possible violations of rights. We will not leave our colleagues alone. We will follow up the process with the bar associations. Search continues in a colleague's office in Şırnak. Our colleagues who were detained are expected to be brought to Urfa."