Turkey prohibits Kurdistan football team jersey

Turkish police confiscated 60 Kurdistan football team jerseys on Sunday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkish police confiscated 60 Kurdistan football team jerseys on Sunday.

Two clothing shopkeepers in the Kurdish town of Hezekh in Sirnakh, southeastern Turkey, were arrested by police officers and held for interrogations. After the investigation, they were sent to court and warned not to sell the jerseys, said a Kurdistan24 reporter in Diyarbakir.

The all-white jersey displayed the flag of Kurdistan as well as the words “Kurdistan” and “Biji Newroz”, Kurdish word for “long live Newroz,” written on the shirt.

The court had also warned the shopkeepers that they will be strictly punished if they attempt to sell the jerseys again in the future.

Following the 2015 elections in Turkey, clashes have once again erupted between Kurdish fighters of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish army in the southeast of the country. Additionally, curfews have been declared in many Kurdish towns and cities.

On Feb. 16, 2016, a curfew was declared in Hezekh and clashes took place between the Turkish army and Civil Protection Unit (YPS) fighters, a unit linked to the PKK group. During the conflict, dozens of people from both sides were killed and wounded.

The curfew was lifted on March 31, where a large number of residents started to return home after they abandoned the area for almost a month.

 

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany