Police attack on Newroz celebrations: 258 detained

After the Newroz celebrations in Istanbul and Mardin yesterday, police attacked people and detained 258.

News Center- Yesterday, Newroz were celebrated in 23 cities in Kurdistan and Turkey with participation of hundreds of thousands. In some cities, police attacked and detained many people for chanting, “Illegal slogans”. Istanbul was one of the cities where Newroz was celebrated. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the Newroz celebration in Istanbul’s Yenikapı Square with the mottos, “Everywhere Newroz, always freedom” and “Freedom with the fire of Newroz”. After the Newroz celebration ended, police attacked the crowd leaving the square. 224 people were detained in Istanbul.

According to the received reports, people were detained for chanting slogans such as “Bijî Serok Apo (English: Long live leader Apo)”, “Be Serok jiyan na be (English: No life without leader)” and “Biji berxwedana zindana (English: Long live the resistance in prisons)”. The detained people were reportedly taken to the Istanbul Security Directorate in Vatan Street.

35 detained in Qoser

Yesterday, Newroz was also celebrated in the Qoser (Turkish: Kızıltepe) district of Mardin province. After the celebration, police attacked the people holding a march and detained 35 people. According to the received reports, children were among the detained people. Detained people were taken to Kızıltepe Police Department.