Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy İbrahim Ayhan, who was detained at Şanlıurfa Airport in southeastern Turkey on Monday morning, was released later in the day.
Ayhan was detained on charges of disseminating the propaganda of a terrorist organization. He was released by a Şanlıurfa court after giving testimony.
Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians have been arrested on terror charges. There are currently 13 HDP deputies behind bars.
The developments have attracted widespread criticism from the region and Western countries.