Four musicians have been handed down suspended sentences of more than a year for singing Kurdish-language songs at a wedding in Hakkari, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing local media.
The musicians – Naci Tekçe, Ali Tekin, İlhan Akdoğan and Bedirhan Uçar – were arrested on July 28 during raids on weddings in three different neighborhoods in Hakkari’s city center.
Authorities claimed the musicians were performing “political songs” at the weddings.
They were charged with “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization,” referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
The sentences follow recent police operations in the provinces of Aydın, Mersin, Ağrı, Siirt, Batman and Hakkari during which more than 30 people were detained on similar accusations.
Kurds in Turkey are often pressured not to speak their native language. Prohibitions against the use of Kurdish in Turkey go back many years. Kurdish language, clothing, folklore and names were banned in 1937. The words “Kurds,” “Kurdistan” and “Kurdish” were among those officially prohibited. After a military coup in 1980, speaking Kurdish was formally forbidden, even in private life.
The visibility of Kurdish on TV and in the print media was only made possible in the early 2000s thanks to significant progress made in the country’s bid to become a member of the EU.
Yet, the drift towards nationalism and the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the last decade has led to an increase in anti-Kurdish racist attacks.