Police detained a number of people, including Onur Kılıç, a member of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), in raids on their homes in İzmir province on Thursday due to their critical social media posts.
According to a report by Bianet, İzmir police detained several people, including other members of the ÖDP and Kılıç, who also serves on the ÖDP Central Executive Board and was previously detained and arrested on the same charges.
Taken into custody on charges of “inciting the public to enmity and hatred,” “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” and “insulting President Erdoğan” in July 2017, Kılıç was at the time released on judicial probation. He was also under arrest for 13 days on charges of “insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”
In the house raids conducted on Thursday, Necati Özdemir from the district of Baloçova in İzmir and Cihangir Köroğlu, an executive from the ÖDP in Denizli, were also detained and taken to the İzmir Police Station.
ÖDP members Coşkun Arslan and Mahir Torunoğlu are currently behind bars due to their social media posts.
The Turkish government investigated 710 social media accounts and took legal action against 208 users between April 16 and April 23, 2018, the Turkish Interior Ministry announced on its official website on Monday.
The ministry announced on February 26 that 845 people who criticized the Turkish military’s Afrin operation on social media and participated in activities critical of it had been taken into custody.
