Seven people detained in Uludere released

ŞIRNAK

DHA Photo

Seven people, who were detained in morning raids in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Jan. 19, have been released, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The seven people were detained on charges of damaging public property, violating the demonstration law and injuring public officers, during a protest against the construction of a new safe road to a military post in the Uludere district.

Three people were released by prosecutors while the others were released after being transferred to court.

Gendarmerie forces reportedly raided houses in the villages of Gülyazı and Ortasu (Roboski in Kurdish) after a protest on Jan. 15, in which one person was heavily wounded and military vehicles were damaged in clashes between protesters and security forces. Thirty-four civilian villagers were killed in a military strike in the area in December 2011.

Kerem Enç, Yılmaz Enç, Hikmet Alma, Cehver Üren, Celal Encü, Faruk Encü and Servet Encü were identified as the detainees in the raids.

Serhat Encü, who survived the military strike but lost 11 family members, was injured after being hit by a gas canister on his ear in last week’s protest.

Tension had escalated when the families of detainees reacted to the police over the detentions.

“There were 3,000 people [at the protest]. Why did you take [into custody] only those who are relatives of those killed. We see an ulterior motive in this,” one of the relatives said.

During the protest on Jan. 15, the families of the Uludere/Roboski massacre victims also protested the dismissal of the investigation into the military’s airstrike.

The strike, carried out near the Turkish-Iraqi border in the district of Uludere in the Şırnak province on Dec. 28, 2011, killed 34 civilian villagers after they were allegedly mistaken for outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants while smuggling goods into Turkey.