At least 235 people including HDP executives rounded up on terror charges

ANKARA

DHA Photo

At least 235 people, including local executives of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), were detained on Dec. 12 in 11 Turkish provinces as part of a major probe launched into the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

The Interior Ministry said the suspects that mostly included HDP local executives and members were detained in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Siirt, Kayseri, Manisa, Hakkari, Adana, Gaziantep, Mersin and Şanlıurfa.  

The detainees included the HDP’s Ankara provincial head, İbrahim Binici, as well as the party’s Istanbul provincial head, Aysel Güzel, Manisa provincial head Ahmet Ertaş and the party’s Salihli district head, Abdulkadir Murg.

With 64 detained suspects, the southern province of Mersin had the highest number of HDP members rounded up in the operations, which included the local executives of the HDP’s sister party, the Democratic Regions Party (DBP). 

Meanwhile, an armed attack was carried out on the HDP provincial head branch office in the western province of Balıkesir on Dec. 12.  

In the attack, the assailant identified only as A.C. reportedly said, “If you martyr police officers, I will fire at you.” No one was reportedly present in the office during the attack. The suspect was later detained by police and a probe was launched into the incident. 

In a separate incident, HDP spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen shared a photo on his Twitter account of the Istanbul office which showed writing on the wall that said, “We came, but you were not here” and featured a crescent and a star. Bilgen alleged the writing was done during the raid on the office. The phrase was often written on the wall by security forces during operations over the past year in southeastern districts.