Police in Germany have arrested two Kurdish activists over the use of People’s Protection Units (YPG) flags in protests, reports Kurdistan 24.
The activists, identified as Munich Kurdish Society Center Co-chairs Azad Bingol and Hezwan Abdal, had their houses raided by the State Security branch of the Munich police on Tuesday.
The pair were reportedly held because they were carrying flags of the YPG and the YPJ [Women Protection Units] in protests organised in Germany, which were held in solidarity with Afrin, a Kurdish controlled region in northern Syria that was overrun by Turkish forces earlier this year.
Although the German Interior Ministry last year banned flags associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and People’s Protection Units (YPG) from being flown in the country, several local courts including in Berlin, have ruled against the ban.
Despite this some states within Germany, including Bavaria, continue to enforce the ban.
“We are protecting Germany, Europe, the world. As we fight these terrorists, we were protecting Europe, especially Germany because if we don’t [fight], IS would hit many parts of Europe,” YPG spokesperson, Nouri Mahmoud, previously told Kurdistan 24.
“It’s unethical to stand against the people who protect you, while you are maintaining the interests of the terrorism of sultan [Turkey’s president] Erdogan. This is a fact that has to be considered by the German people and government.”
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