Turkey: Detention and torture for commemorating İbrahim Kaypakkaya

Featured image: Collage on the struggles remembering Ibrahim Kaypakkaya; Source: Yeni Demokrasi

The democratic Turkish newspaper Yeni Demokrasi reports that the police attacked the commemoration of Communist Leader İbrahim Kaypakkaya in Kadıköy, Istanbul, 21 people were detained and tortured.

The police attacked the commemoration that youth organizations wanted to hold on May 18 in front of Süreyya Opera in Kadıköy, Istanbul. 17 of those detained were released during the night. 4 people were referred to the prosecutor’s office.

One of those detained had a cracked finger as a result of torture. In addition, 21 people were kept in the detention vehicle for long hours with handcuffs at their backs and subjected to physical violence in the detention vehicle as well as while being transferred to Bayrampaşa State Hospital. The medical staff in the hospital were indifferent to the torture. The four remaining detainees are expected to be brought to the prosecutor’s office today.

Yesterday we reported on the arrests of two Partizan readers on the day of the 51st anniversary of the murder of Communist Leader İbrahim Kaypakkaya, The Partizan readers were detained in Sarıgazi and Pendik, Istanbul, in the morning and at noon. Many Partizan readers were also called by the authorities to do testimonies.

Banners and posters hung to commemorate Communist Leader İbrahim Kaypakkaya were used as the reason for the detention. Yeni Demokrasi reports, that those detained were charged with “opposition to 2911” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organization”.

One of the Partizan readers detained, the one in Pendik, was subjected to torture in the detention vehicle. The police tortured him by beatings. Torture continued at Pendik District Police Department. The Partizan reader was taken to a medical check-up with handcuffs behind his back.

One of the two detained Partizan readers was taken to the Anatolian Courthouse in Kartal. Both Partizan readers were released in the evening.

İbrahim Kaypakkaya was also commemorated in Dersim at an event organized by Partizan. The event started with a moment of silence on behalf of all martyrs of the revolution and communism, and a speech was made on behalf of Partizan. After the speech, there was a screening, prepared by May Kolektif, on May 13, 1980. The documentary about the life of the immortalized Armenian communist Armenak Bakırcıyan was screened in Karakoçan. The event ended after watching the documentary “Sword Wound on His Forehead – Orhan Bakır”.

To commemorate İbrahim Kaypakkaya on the 51st anniversary of his immortality, Partizan put up posters and banners in many parts of Istanbul, Samandağ and Izmir. “We are on the Red Route of İbo” could be read in Sarıgazi, Tuzla Shipyards Region, Pendik, Kartal and Saraçhane in Istanbul. Actions were also carried out in Hatay Samandağ,