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Turkish court arrests lawyer over alleged terror ties

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A Turkish court has arrested a lawyer for alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, Agence France-Presse reported on Sunday, citing local media.

Fırat Epözdemir, a board member of the İstanbul Bar Association, was arrested Saturday by an İstanbul court on charges of “membership in an armed terrorist group” and “spreading terrorist propaganda,” according to the private broadcaster NTV.

Epözdemir was detained Thursday at İstanbul Airport as part of an ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors in İstanbul accuse Epözdemir of joining a PKK-linked WhatsApp group in 2015, during the peak of clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish security forces in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, a conflict that has left more than 40,000 people dead. Ankara has faced criticism for framing the Kurdish struggle for recognition primarily as a security threat, rather than addressing the broader political and cultural demands of a community that makes up 15 to 20 percent of Turkey’s population of 85 million.

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