Out of the 22 people who were detained in connection with June 9 Diyarbakır violence, 14 were arrested on Sunday and were transferred to the prison. The other eight have been released, but four people's release was upon the condition of judicial control. One of the arrested was reported to be under 18 years old.
Diyarbakır, a predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey, was rocked by the killing of Aytaç Baran, the head of the Yeni İhya-Der (Science, Service, Cooperation and Research Association) – a prominent nongovernmental organization (NGO) with ties to the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), a pro-Kurdish party heavily supported by conservative Kurds. His murder revived dormant tensions in the city and the region between rival Kurdish groups.
The incident took place on 9 June, two days after the general elections that saw the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), which is linked to the PKK terrorist organization, secure seats in Parliament in a landmark win. The attack is blamed on a terrorist organization linked to that party, a rival of HÜDA-PAR.
Baran was shot dead outside his office on Tuesday. Soon after, HÜDA-PAR supporters convened outside the office to protest the killing. The assassination was blamed on the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), an armed wing of the PKK and an adversary of HÜDA-PAR. Hours later, three more killings were reported. News agencies reported the victims were three men who are members of the HDP.
Both the PKK and the HDP denied any connection to the killing of Baran. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş said "connections" between the killing of Baran and his party's members would only be revealed after an official investigation. He stressed that his party - that extols praise for jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and openly voices support for the PKK's actions - is not an armed organization.
