Eylul Yasar, a journalist with the AFP video service, was preparing to film the celebrations of Nowrouz, the Kurdish New Year, when she was arrested at a checkpoint. Around fifty people who came to attend the celebrations, generally accompanied by traditional dances and a large bonfire, were also arrested on site.
Kurds, who make up about a fifth of Turkey's estimated 85 million people, face significant discrimination in the country. The former leading figure of the main pro-Kurdish party HDP has been imprisoned since 2016 for “terrorist propaganda”