Conscript in Turkish military arrested for PKK 'propaganda'

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - Turkish police on Monday arrested a soldier deployed in the northwestern province of Bolu for allegedly disseminating propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the guerrilla group he was conscripted to fight.

The accusation against the conscript Vedat A. (24) was that he shared posts in favor of the Kurdish fighters on social media, reported government-funded Anadolu Agency.

There was no information regarding the content of the soldier's posts or interactions online.

Anti-terror police units detained him at the military base he was serving.

After an interrogation by a local prosecutor, he was sent to prison pending trial over the crime of membership in a "terrorist group."

All males above 20 years of age are obliged by law to serve in the army for at least 12 months, with certain exceptions applying.

A.'s detention is the second such case in the past three months.

Back in June, another soldier identified as S. A. deployed with the elite Bolu Commando Brigade was imprisoned for what the authorities deemed as "terrorist propaganda."

PKK and the Turkish army have been locked in a decades-long, on and off conflict over successive governments' suppression of Kurdish identity, rights, and demand for self-rule.

Arrests in Turkey over social media activity have been widespread, particularly in the aftermath of the botched military coup attempt against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Last month, police detained 13 people in the Kurdish province of Hakkari for allegedly sharing content in favor of the PKK on the Internet.

Aside from individual citizens, hundreds of NGOs, media networks, and Kurdish municipal administrations as well have faced accusations of collaboration with or propaganda for the PKK, charges that led to their closure or imprisonment.

Editing by Ava Homa