Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced on Wednesday that 125 people have been detained on accusations of disseminating terrorist propaganda on social media, while three individuals have been arrested.
According to Tunç’s announcement on X, formerly Twitter, the arrests and detentions were part of investigations launched into 202 suspects in 29 provinces. Tunç also said 29 people were released after giving statements to the police, while six were released under judicial supervision. Efforts are underway to apprehend 39 other suspects.
The minister said no tolerance will be shown to people “disturbing the families of martyrs and the public, sharing offensive posts on social media and aiming to disrupt the peace of the nation.”
Sosyal medyada terör propagandası yapan, şehit ailelerimize yönelik suç teşkil eden ifadeler kullanan, suç ve suçluyu övenler hakkında gerekli adli soruşturmalara Cumhuriyet Başsavcılıklarımız tarafından devam edilmektedir.
◾ 29 ilimizde,
◾ 202 şüpheli hakkında soruşturma…— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) December 27, 2023
The development comes after 12 Turkish soldiers were killed last week in separate attacks on bases in northern Iraq by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey has operated several dozen military posts in northern Iraq for the past 25 years in its decades-old war against the PKK, a group designated by Turkey and much of the international community as a terrorist organization.