Turkish police release Kurdish academic detained for posting 'Long Live Kurdistan' on social media

Kutum’s lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar tweeted that his client was released after appeal at the 2nd Elazig High Criminal Court, where he was charged.
Hifzullah Kutum, a research assistant at Fırat University. (Photo: Duvar English)
Hifzullah Kutum, a research assistant at Fırat University. (Photo: Duvar English)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish academic Hifzullah Kutum, who was detained on Nov. 6 after sharing the phrase “Long Live Kurdistan” on his social media account, was released by the Turkish police on Wednesday.

Kutum’s lawyer Mehmet Emin Aktar tweeted that his client was released after appeal at the 2nd Elazig High Criminal Court, where he was charged.

“The (court) case was opened and the court ruled in his favor to release him (on appeal). But in February 2022, the case will continue,” Aktar told Kurdistan 24. “The prosecutor in this indictment accuses Hifzullah Kutum of PKK propaganda.”

In a Sept. 14 tweet, Kutum congratulated all Kurds “on the (anniversary of the) September Revolution. Long Live Kurdistan” accompanied by a picture of Kurdish leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani.

After that tweet, the Fırat University in Elazig suspended Kutum from his position. A Turkish flag was reportedly hung on Kutum’s office door at the university.

In response, Kutum said that the flag in the clip he posted on social media is of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with which Turkey has diplomatic relations. He also referred to meetings between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and top Iraqi Kurdish officials. 

The September Revolution, spearheaded by the late Mullah Mustafa Barzani, broke out on Sept. 11, 1961, as part of efforts to establish a Kurdish autonomous region within the Iraqi state, then led by Abdul Karim Qasim.

The incident comes one week after Turkish police detained a civilian named Cemil Taşkesen in the Kurdish Siirt province in late October for criticizing the visit of Meral Aksener, the leader of the Turkish ultranationalist Iyi (Good) Party.

Read More: Kurdish civilian detained in Turkey for saying “this is Kurdistan”

Taşkesen was later released after giving his statement to the prosecution.

Also, the Deputy Chairman of the Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK) Bayram Bozyel was arrested on Nov. 8 by Turkish police in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed).

Read More: Kurdish politician arrested by Turkish police in security crackdown

Editing by Paul Iddon.