In a joint statement released on Tuesday, a group of 18 international organizations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), have called on Turkey to release Kurdish journalists, politicians, and lawyers who were detained during police raids last Thursday. These detentions come ahead of Turkey's upcoming general and presidential elections on June 24th.

The arrests were made in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern province of Diyarbakir, where Turkish police detained at least 10 individuals, including a journalist and several members of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP). The HDP has faced a significant crackdown in recent months, with many of its Kurdish officials arrested in March.

The international organizations, including Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Commission of Jurists, have expressed concern over the arrests and called on Turkey to respect freedom of expression and assembly, particularly in the context of the upcoming elections.

In response to an anticipated ban by the Turkish Constitutional Court, the HDP has renamed itself as the Green Left Party for the upcoming elections. The move comes amid concerns that the HDP's outspoken criticism of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has made it a target for government crackdowns.

The Turkish government has been accused of using anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent and target Kurdish opposition groups. In recent years, thousands of people, including journalists and politicians, have been imprisoned on terrorism charges, with critics arguing that many of the arrests are politically motivated.

Turkey's upcoming elections will be closely watched by international observers, who have raised concerns about the country's deteriorating human rights record and the erosion of democratic institutions under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

By Kobin Ferhad