Turkey detains over 800 for alleged links to PKK

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – In the latest wave of crackdowns, Turkish authorities on Monday and Tuesday detained at least 834 over suspected links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish Security Headquarters announced.

The arrests come shortly before the April 16 referendum when citizens of Turkey will vote on replacing the parliamentary system with the stronger presidency sought by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Critics say Turkey’s two-pronged purges have turned into an excuse to target political opposition.

A pro-Kurdish parliamentary party said the crackdown was aimed at sidelining the party ahead of the April referendum.

The co-leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag have also been arrested on terror propaganda charges and remain in prison.

“The basic goal of these operations...is to hold the referendum without the HDP,” a statement from the HDP’s executive committee said.

This year, around 1,200 HDP members and executives have been arrested, 300 of whom were detained on Monday.

Additionally, a dozen of its lawmakers and several Kurdish mayors from a sister party have been jailed pending trial.

Turkey’s government imposed a state of emergency throughout the country after the failed coup attempt in mid-July 2016, restricting freedoms and empowering the police and prosecutors.

Tens of thousands of public servants have so far been dismissed or suspended from their jobs over suspected ties to outlawed groups.

The “illegal groups” included the Gulen Movement led by the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Erdogan holds responsible for masterminding the coup attempt, and the PKK.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany