DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Kurdish lawyer and rights activist Muharrem Erbey was among thousands of people who landed behind bars in 2009 as part of a massive probe into an alleged Kurdish separatist network. The persecution of Kurdish activists was hardly a novelty for Turkey, but the way Erbey learned of the court’s arrest ruling was truly unusual, if not Kafkaesque.
“We had just left the prosecutor’s room [after questioning], and before the prosecutor had made any decision, Samanyolu TV reported we had been arrested,” Erbey told Al-Monitor, referring to a channel linked to the Gulen community. “The prosecutor was unaware, but Samanyolu TV was already running a news ticker.”