No to the repression against Kurdish refugees in France

We denounce police cooperation between countries of the European Union and Turkey. We demand the immediate release of Kurds arrested in France on 26 February, and a stop to all proceedings against them. [Français]

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No to the repression against Kurdish refugees in France

On Friday 26 February, a morning raid was carried out on the local association of the Kurdish People's House, a gathering place for the Kurdish community in Marseilles. On the orders of Parisian prosecutors, in connection with an investigation into "terrorism", the operation saw the mobilization of no fewer than 15 trucks full of riot police, in addition to the judicial police anti-terrorist squad and forensic scientists. Final result: 9 people arrested, of whom some were later released, but several have been transferred to Paris to be interrogated by anti-terrorism magistrates.

Marseilles is not the only city to have been affected by the raids that day - Montpellier, Draguignan, Grenoble, and even a farm in Larzac also saw the arrival of Parisian investigators. In Italy, no less than 71 people were arrested for the same reason.

As in April 2007 in Paris and January 2009 in Marseilles, this operation is intended to intimidate the Kurdish refugee population in France in order to promote economic and political relations with Turkey. We denounce police cooperation between countries of the European Union and Turkey. We demand the immediate release of Kurds arrested in France on 26 February, and a stop to all proceedings against them.

Alternative Libertaire

3 March 2010

Translation by FdCA-International Relations Office]