JINHA

MÊRDÎN - Residents of the Kurdish town of Nusaybin, Turkey stopped all business for a day to protest the arrest of the town's co-mayor, Sara Kaya.

Police raids and arrests continue to target activists in Northern Kurdistan in Turkey. Recently, in a series of raids in the town of Nusaybin, police arrested the town's popular co-mayor, Sara Kaya, along with a range of Kurdish politicians and activists. Sara is currently jailed on charges of being a "member of an illegal organization."

Nusaybin residents shut the town down for a day in protest of the arrest. Streets were empty and all shops except pharmacies and bakeries were closed. Police vehicles toured the silent streets.

"It's your dishonor that you handcuffed the popular will. It's our duty to resist," read a sign bearing a picture of Sara that was hung from the Mitanni Culture Center.

(bg/fk/cm)