Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Mehmet Ali Aslan was detained at Batman Airport while he was on his way to Ankara on Tuesday.
“It looks like I won’t be able to break my fast in Ankara. I am being detained at Batman Airport. God is great,” wrote Aslan from his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.
It has become common for Turkish police to detain HDP deputies as 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 11 HDP deputies behind bars including the party’s current and former co-chairs.
The developments have attracted widespread criticism from the region and Western countries.