7 People Arrested in Raids of Homes and Offices in Adana

Police officers from the Anti-Terror Branch of the Police Directorate in Adana by the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea conducted a raid on several media institutions, claiming that they acted on behalf of a decision by the Adana 8^th High Criminal Court.

The police arrested 3 journalists: Kenan Karavil as the broadcast director of the local radio station Radio Dünya, journalist Şeyhmus Bilgin working for the Kurdish newspapers Günlük and Azadiya Welat and Seyithan Akyüz as the Azadiya Welat Adana correspondent.

DTP provincial executives also taken into custody

Provincial executives Erol Demirhan, Engin Okutucu and women's representative Fikriye Özbay from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were also taken into custody as well as a person called Hazım Bahadır.  The arrests of the journalists and politicians were a result of a raid on their homes in the early morning hours of Monday 7 December.

Dünya Radio employee Mine Kaynak told bianet that no reason had been given for the search. Kaynak reported that the police confiscated numerous files, the driver of a computer from the news centre, 2 laptops, a memory card containing advertisement records and a large number of books, magazines and newspapers.

Search of Azadiya Welat office

At the same time, the police searched the office of the Azadiya Welat Adana correspondence. The journalists and politicians are being kept in custody in the Adana Police Directorate. (EÖ/VK)