In house raids conducted in Diyarbakır on April 15, 2022, several people, including Kadri Esen, the Grant Holder of the Zwebûn newspaper published in Kurdish, and journalist Ali Koçer were taken into custody.
The house raids were reportedly conducted in the early morning hours as part of an investigation carried out by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the Newroz celebrations. While there were detention warrants against 57 people, the detained people were taken to the Diyarbakır Security Directorate.
Kadri Esen was released after his statement was taken. In a statement released by the prosecutor’s office, it was said that the operation was conducted as part of a “Newroz investigation”; however, Esen faced charges for posting his news on his Facebook account (April 16).