NEWS CENTER - Kurdish PEN member writer Meral Şimşek was battered and detained by Greek police while crossing from Turkey to Greece on June 29 and was subjected to a strip search.

 

Kurdish PEN member writer Meral Şimşek announced that she was battered and detained by the Greek police while crossing from Turkey to Greece on June 29 and was subjected to a strip search with a Syrian woman next to her.

 

Meral, who was battered for hours despite stating that she had a case for alleged ‘’propaganda’’ and ‘’being a member of a terrorist organization’’ in Turkey and that she was a member of PEN, said that the Greek police harassed both her and the Syrian woman named Dicle with whom she was detained.

 

Meral also stated that the police confiscated the computer, mobile phone and large amount of money they had with them, and after about 24 hours, she and the woman with her were thrown into the waters of Evros River (Meriç).

 

Meral, who is among the important writers with national and international literary awards, was arrested on the grounds of ‘’violating the ban on going abroad’’ when they came ashore in Ipsala. Meral was released after eight days in prison.