Raid on HDP co-chair’s house targeted house worker, police say

Yüksekdağ’s house in Istanbul was raided on June 15, reportedly as part of an operation against the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) and the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).

The raid was carried out to apprehend Fadime Ç., who was suspected of going to Syria’s Kobane to get weapons training and returning to Turkey to execute bomb or armed attacks, but she wasn’t in the house when the police arrived, according to security officials. 

A total of 14 suspects, one from the Central Anatolian province of Sivas and 13 from Istanbul, were detained in the operation, which was carried out in 23 addresses in several provinces. 

The police refuted claims a judicial process had been launched against Yüksekdağ, adding it was confirmed that Fadime Ç. lived in the co-chair’s house. 

“An operation was launched to apprehend Fadime Ç., one of the suspects thought to be involved in the activities of a leftist terror organization in the Karadolap neighborhood of the Eyüp district [in Istanbul], but she wasn’t caught at that address,” the police’s statement read. 

“Upon the information received from the people staying in the house, Fadime Ç.’s passports and private items were seen in the room she is using, thus the accuracy of the address was confirmed. There is no judicial or administrative practice ongoing for the lawmaker [Yüksekdağ] and her husband,” the statement added. 
Yüksekdağ is the former head of the ESP, which allegedly has links to the MLKP, as the HDP claimed the operation was against the ESP.

“An operation against the ESP is already an operation against the HDP. They’re acting like bandits in raiding my house,” Yüksekdağ told journalists during a visit to the ESP’s headquarters in Istanbul on June 15, while adding that the raid was unlawful and illegitimate.

The ESP announced its support for the HDP in the Nov. 1, 2015, general elections, in which the latter gained 59 seats in parliament.

“All of our components are a source of power for the HDP. They think that they can intimidate us by killings and arrests, but we became stronger each time,” Yüksekdağ also said.