Abdurrahman Zorlu, mayor of the Hani district of southeastern Diyarbakır province, was arrested on Friday on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, CNN Türk has reported.
Pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) member Zorlu was detained on Sept. 8 as part of an investigation into the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its umbrella organization, the Kurdistan Communities’ Union (KCK).
Another DBP mayor, from the İdil district of the southeastern province of Şırnak, Mehmet Muhdi Aslan, was also arrested on terrorism charges on Sept. 26.
In early September Turkey’s Interior Ministry in a controversial move appointed trustees to 28 local municipalities, 24 of which were allegedly linked to the PKK, while the other four were allegedly connected to the faith-based Gülen movement.