Turkey: Five detained after waving KRI flags in football match
At least 5 people were detained on Monday for unfurling the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) flag during a match played in Turkey’s Kurdish majority city of Diyarbakir last night.
Turkey announced late Sunday that it launched a probe into the “provocative” actions of supporters of Amedspor who waved the KRI flag in celebration of their team’s victory earlier in the night.
Diyarbakir-based Amedspor won against Bursaspor with a victory of 2-0, climbing up to the seventh place on the table.
As the match played out on the field, Amedspor supporters were seen waving the KRI flag and holding up pictures of Mahsa Amini, who was killed in custody by morality police in Iran.
Turkish interior ministry posted a tweet that said “Those who want to poison sports with provocative content will not be given the opportunity under any circumstances,” following the match.
The tweet said that “necessary interventions” were made against the supporters and an investigation was initiated.
Bu akşam, Diyarbakır'da oynanan maçta alınan tüm güvenlik önlemlerine rağmen vücutlarına sararak stada soktukları değerlendirilen görsellerle ağır provakasyon hedeflenmiştir.
— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) September 25, 2022
Sporu provakatif içeriklerle zehirlemek, isteyenlere hiç bir şartta fırsat verilmeyecektir...+
The statement from the interior ministry sparked controversy among the Kurdish community online, as well as a number of Turkish officials.
“The Kurdistan Regional Government is a constitutional part of Iraq. Why should a flag be a crime when the authorities come from there?” said Kani Torun, the Secretary-General of the right-leaning Future Party.
Kürdistan Bölge Yönetimi Irak’ın anayasal bir parçasıdır. Oradan yetkililer geldiğinde önünde fotoğraf çektirilen bayrak niye suç olsun? Nahçıvan bayrağı açıldığında provokasyon olmuyorsa burada da olmaz. Vatandaşlarımızın akrabaları kardeş topluluklardır. pic.twitter.com/OguDUR9Qhn
— Dr. C. Kani Torun (@torunkani) September 26, 2022
