Ten Beşiktaş sports club fans have been arrested in Samsun for holding banners that read “Nuriye Semih Shall Live” in support of two jailed educators who are on the 162nd day of a hunger strike, Turkish media reported on Thursday.
According to the reports, 10 fans whose houses were raided and who were detained by Turkish police on Wednesday were arrested on charges of propagandizing for a terrorist organization, while one supporter was released on judicial probation.
The Samsun Chief Prosecutor’s Office released a written statement which that said warrants were issued for suspects who held banners supporting the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front DHKP-C armed terrorist organization and its militants.
The educators were on the 76th day of a hunger strike to protest their dismissal by a statutory decree when they were arrested on terror charges on May 23 in Ankara.
Gülmen and Özakça said their strike aims to draw attention to the situation of more than 150,000 dismissed state employees.
The Turkish government started a crackdown on the opposition in the wake of a botched coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and arrested more than 50,000, dismissing or suspending around 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants.