Detained Kurdish Amedspor fans who didn't stand for national anthem released
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Amedspor fans, who were detained on the grounds that they did not stand up during the National Anthem, were released on Tuesday.
They were previously detained on the grounds that they did not stand up while the Turkish National Anthem was being sung during the Amedspor-Denizlispor match played in the predominantly Kurdish Diyarbakir province, also known as Amed in Kurdish, on Sunday.
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Amedspor has faced numerous assaults from nationalists in the preceding years.
Acting on the accusation of "disrespecting symbols of state sovereignty," the police transported the fans to the Diyarbakır Security Directorate, the Turkish news website Duvar reported.
On Aug. 28th, the prosecutor referred the Amedspor fans to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace on duty, requesting their release under judicial supervision. As of 7:30 p.m. local time, the legal procedures for the fans were ongoing at the courthouse.
Previously, legal proceedings were initiated against six Amedspor fans who declined to stand for the national anthem during a 2021 match, and 19 individuals following a 2022 match, all facing charges of "publicly insulting the national anthem."
In 2016, lawyers representing 29 fans detained on allegations of "insulting the national anthem and promoting a terrorist organization" during a football game stated that their clients had been subjected to torture and coerced into singing the national anthem while in custody.
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In March 2023, Amedspor players suffered injuries in racist attacks during a match in the Bursa province. They also received threats of violence from fans present in the stadium.
Police raided the team’s headquarters in 2016 during urban warfare between Kurdish rebels and Turkish government forces in several provinces.
Earlier this week, the Chairman of Amedspor, Aziz Elaldi, announced that Amedspor has faced many obstacles and problems so far, but they want to open a new page, adding 20 new players to the team this year.
He also said they want to make Amedspor a successful sports team like Barcelona.