NAN-F-15
Arrest
Istanbul, Nov. 24, 2016 (dpa/NAN) A Turkish court has arrested Ahmet Turk, the pro-Kurdish former mayor of Mardin, on terror charges.
The public prosecutor’s office in Mardin, in the south-east of the country, is investigating Turk regarding membership of a terrorist organization, the news agency DHA reported.
Among other things, Turk is being accused of using state resources to support the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turk was removed from post last week and replaced with an unelected state trustee. He was then detained Monday before being formally charged.
Although he does not belong to any political party, he is closely affiliated to the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
According to the HDP, the Ankara government has placed 34 Kurdish municipalities that had been run by democratically elected HDP officials under the control of trustees.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been stepping up measures against the party, accusing it of links to terrorism. The HDP, the third-largest party in parliament, denies the charges. (dpa/NAN)
Edited by Julius Enehikhuere