Istanbul police on Aug 10 raided a wedding in the Esenyurt district, leading to the detention of eight individuals, including the wedding hosts and musicians. The raid was reportedly triggered by the playing of "political songs" during the event, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported. Five detainees were released after giving their statements, while three remained in custody to be referred to a court. The detainees are accused of 'making terrorist propaganda.' Bu görntler, Krt'e, Krtçe'ye ve Krt dgnlerine tahammlszlgn görntleri. Esenyurt'ta kendi sokaklarinda dgn yapan Karçik ailesinin dgnn onlarca resmi ve sivil araçlarla basan yzlerce polis, dgn sahibi 5 kisiyi gözaltina aldi. Yasanan bu saldirinin takipçisi… pic.twitter.com/sZp7HQDX3V - DEM Parti Istanbul (@dempartistanbul) August 10, 2024 The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party criticized the police action as a sign of intolerance towards Kurdish identity and culture, highlighting the recent occurrence of similar raids across the country. "These images reflect intolerance towards Kurds, the Kurdish language, and Kurdish weddings. Hundreds of police officers in dozens of official and civilian vehicles raided the wedding of the Karçik family in Esenyurt and detained five people. We will continue to follow this attack closely,' said the party's Istanbul branch in a statement on social media. Recent months have seen an increase in police raids on Kurdish weddings across Turkey, justified by allegations of "terror propaganda." Authorities claim that the songs played or slogans chanted at these events contain content related to 'terrorism.'
Source : English Bianet