Six human rights activists and politicians who were detained along with others during police operations in the eastern Turkish province of Malatya on Tuesday were arrested on Friday on terrorism charges, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.
The human rights activists and politicians, who are from the Human Rights Association (İHD), the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), were detained on Tuesday.
Local HDP politicians Ahmet Aksu, Aziz Doğan, Hasan Karvar, Ahmet Turan Sertkaya, DBP politicians Nermin Tuncel and İHD official Gönül Öztürkoğlu were arrested on charges of membership in the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to HDP Co-chair Sezai Temelli, more than 12,000 HDP members, including the former leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, are already behind bars.