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Turkey detains Kurdish human rights lawyers on terror claims

Police detained nine human rights lawyers in the mainly Kurdish provinces of Urfa and Diyarbakir on March 12 in what rights groups say is part of an ongoing pressure campaign aimed at covering up abuse in police custody.
Riot police stand guard as the supporters of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) gather to protest against the detention of their local politicians in Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 25, 2019. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC13A80DFC30

At least nine lawyers were detained on terror charges in early morning raids in the mainly Kurdish provinces of Urfa and Diyarbakir today, part of an ongoing campaign of repression targeting human rights defenders, said Abdullah Oncel, the president of the Urfa Bar Association.

Seven of the lawyers were detained in Urfa and two others in Diyarbakir. Three others — all from Diyarbakir — are being sought, Oncel told Al-Monitor. Several of the lawyers’ offices were ransacked by police and their homes raided, he added.

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