ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish security forces on Saturday detained 59 people in Istanbul for protesting the killing of two Kurdish journalists in a suspected Turkish drone strike in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“59 people were detained while making a statement for journalists Nazim Dashtan and Cihan Belkin,” pro-Kurdish outlet Mezopotamya Agency said, adding that 14 were referred to the prosecutor’s office and the others were released.
A suspected Turkish drone strike on Thursday killed Belkin and Dashtan, who worked for Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with the Kurdish administration in Rojava. The journalists were returning to Kobane after covering clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) near Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge.
The Istanbul Bar Association also condemned the arrests, saying “citizens, including four colleagues of our association, two law faculty students, and tens of journalists were taken into custody.”
“It is unacceptable to detain press members and colleagues who are exercising their constitutional rights and mourning for their colleagues,” the association stated, demanding an “immediate investigation” into their killing and the release of those who were detained.
On Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Turkish authorities to carry out an investigation into the drone strike and for those responsible to be held accountable.
ANHA manager Akram Barakat told CPJ that the journalists’ vehicle was targeted despite being “clearly marked as ‘Press,’ but Turkey ‘continues to disregard’ international laws.”
Simultaneous with the rebel push for Damascus that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the SNA launched an attack on Kurdish forces in the north. It has received Turkish air support for its offensive, which is now threatening the symbolic Kurdish city of Kobane.
The Kurdish-led SDF on Wednesday warned that the SNA was violating a US-brokered ceasefire by launching attacks on Kobane, but Ankara on Thursday denied there was a truce in place.
Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, as the Syrian front for the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist group by Ankara.
