DIYARBAKIR - It was learned that during the Newroz celebration held in Bismil, 5-year-old twins were taken to the police station and their local clothes were confiscated by the police. 

 

During the Newroz celebration held on March 19 in Diyarbakır's Bismil district, many people wearing traditional clothes were blocked from entering the are or detained on the grounds of "wearing terrorist  clothes". Among those who were not allowed into that area were 5-year-old A.B and E.B. wearing local clothes. The twins were taken to the Bismil Security Directorate together with their detained mother Zeynep B. The mother was asked, "Where did you get these dresses?", "Didn't you know it was forbidden?" Zeynep B. said, "We have attended Newroz with these dresses before. It is not a crime. These dresses are our local dresses.” After the the police filed a report, the fingerprints of the twins were taken, and the mother was released.

 

SECOND DETENTION

 

Zeynep B., after she was released, took off the local clothes on her twin children and participated in the celebrations. Zeynep B. was called to the police station again after the celebrations on the grounds that she did not sigh a document and was detained again for a day. It was learned that Zeynep B was told that she would later give a statement to the prosecutor's office at the police station.

 

THEY SAW THE POLICE STATION AT THE AGE OF 5 

 

Father Nedim B. stated that the local clothes they have been wearing for years were "banned" in one day. Nedim B. said, "They put this ban without any legal decision. It is not a legal. The twins were detained arbitrarily. Their clothes were taken off in that cold weather. They were taken to the police station. They saw the police station at the age of five. They did not show any legal decision while doing this. I call out everyone to be sensitive to what is being done to my children.

 

'MY CHILDREN WERE TRAUMATISED'

 

Nedim B., who stated that his children were traumatised by this detention, "The word 'police' frightens them.  Are those who do this to children not ashamed at all? While those who killed people were not even detained, they considered the clothes of my children a crime simply because they wore local clothes. We will file a criminal complaint against those police officers who did this."

 

 

MA / Fethi Balaman