Dismissed educators in Turkey taken into custody on 75th day of hunger strike

On the 75th day of their hunger strike, which they started to demand their jobs back, educators Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça have been taken into custody with a late night operation in which police raided their houses in Ankara.

On Monday morning (May 22), police attacked demonstrators who gathered in front of the Human Rights Statue in Ankara’s downtown Kızılay to show support for Gülmen and Özakça were also violently dispersed by the police.

Both Özakça and Gülmen Tweeted at around 1:00 a.m. on Monday stating their houses were being raided by police. Their lawyers Ebru Timtik and Ayşegül Çağatay, along with Özakça’s wife Esra Özakça, were also taken into custody as they reacted against the police.

According to claims reported by online news portal İleriHaber, Gülmen and Özakça were taken into custody because of the fears of the officials about their demonstration having the potential to spark a massive protest similar to that of Gezi and Tekel.

Later in the afternoon, after dispersing people with teargas and taken into custody 7 more people, police set up barriers around the Human Rights Statue in Yüksel Street of Ankara to block people from coming to site to hold their sit-in

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/yuksel-caddesi-nde-polis-saldirisi-gozaltilar-var-160662.html