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Translated by: Blerta Haxhiu
- February 18, 2025 13:55 AM
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Turkish police have arrested 282 suspects accused of links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it describes as a militant group, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday.
Among them are journalists, politicians, and academics.
The raids over the past five days came as Turkey continues to remove elected pro-Kurdish mayors from their posts, a move that coincides with hopes for an end to a 40-year conflict between the PKK and the authorities, Reuters reports.
The Turkish Journalists Union condemned the detention of the three journalists.
"We do not accept that they are detained through house raids instead of being called to the police station," the union said in a statement on social media.
Among those arrested are members of the People's Democratic Congress (HDK), as well as smaller left-wing parties, academics, and prominent LGBTQ rights activists.
Police carried out anti-terrorism raids in 51 provinces, including the capital Ankara and the largest city, Istanbul. Yerlikaya said those arrested were suspected of spreading propaganda, providing funding for the militant group, recruiting members and joining street protests.
On Saturday, Turkey removed a mayor of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party in the eastern province of Van from office for terrorism-related convictions, bringing the total number of dismissed DEM mayors to eight since the 2024 elections.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the state since 1984, in a conflict in which more than 40 people have been killed.
