Turkish authorities have rearrested two Kurdish minors accused of disseminating terrorism propaganda during Newroz celebrations in İstanbul, with a third still being sought under the same court order, the Bianet news website reported.
The İstanbul 12th Criminal Magistrate of Peace ordered the rearrest of three minors following prosecutors’ objections to their release from pretrial detention.
The minors were detained in a police operation on March 27 after attending Newroz celebrations held on March 22 at İstanbul’s Yenikapı Square. Ten people who had been detained with the minors were released on May 5.
The minors were jailed on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda. One of them was accused of displaying the official flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, another of appearing in a photograph featuring Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), while the third was accused of posing with a pennant bearing the colors yellow, red and green on the grounds that the same colors appear in the PKK’s flag.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 but said in May 2025 it would disband and end its armed campaign.
Lawyer Veysel Demirkaya from the İstanbul branch of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) reminded that a fourth minor was arrested on May 24 for singing at a Newroz celebration in İstanbul’s Başakşehir district. He said the minor remains in pretrial detention despite no indictment having yet been filed, arguing that the situation constitutes a violation of the minor’s right to liberty and security.
The prosecutions linked to Newroz celebrations took place amid ongoing efforts toward a peace initiative in Turkey, with Ankara saying progress depends on the PKK giving up its arms and disbanding unconditionally, while Kurdish politicians argue that the government continues to criminalize speech, slogans and symbols linked to Kurdish public life even as it calls for trust.
Rights groups have criticized Turkey’s use of terrorism propaganda charges in cases involving Kurdish songs, dances and language activities, saying the law has at times been applied to nonviolent forms of expression.
