Turkey arrests pro-Kurdish DBP co-leader

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – On Wednesday, Kurdistan24 news team in Diyarbakir reported that Kamuran Yuksek, the co-leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) was arrested after a warrant was issued by Diyarbakir’s prosecutor’s office.

His arrest follows a series of warrants issued for the Kurdish politicians who were stripped of immunity.

Kurdistan24 learned that Yuksek is still being held pending further investigation, amid the continuous violence between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On the reasons for Yuksek’s detention, the Netherlands-based Kurdish Firat News Agency (ANF), a close associate to PKK’s military wing HPG, reported on Wednesday that he was arrested because of the press statements he made recently against the Turkish ruling party (AKP).

“DBP co-chair's lawyer Muzaffer Ozdemir said Yuksek was detained because of a statement he made to the press and he is expected to be taken to court the day after his arrest,” ANF reported.

“Following Yuksek's detention late Tuesday evening, Turkish police forces raided his house and the party’s building,” ANF added.

Commenting on Yuksek’s detention, Selahattin Demirtas, the co-leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), confirmed that Yuksek remains in detention due to the press statements he recently made.

It is worth mentioning that Yuksek was once more arrested in March 16 in the country’s eastern city of Kars, by the Turkish anti-terror police in the hotel where he was staying and was taken to the provincial police headquarters.

He was arrested in Kars after arriving in the city for celebrating Newroz, the Kurdish New Year’s festival. 

The DBP, which governs municipalities of more than 100 towns and cities across Turkey’s Kurdish areas, is a fraternal party to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest bloc in the Turkish Parliament.

A top UN official recently deplored Turkish government's military abuses in the Kurdistan of Turkey, stating that more than 100 people were burned to death while sheltering in basements in Cizre.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Ava Homa