Probe opened into HDP lawmakers for attending ‘PKK funeral’

BATMAN

Turkish prosecutors on July 20 launched a probe into two Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers for attending the funeral of an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant in the southeastern Batman province. 

Batman’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched the probe against Feleknas Uca and Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki for “making propaganda for a terror group,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The HDP lawmakers attended the funeral of Devran Baysal, also known by his code name Simko Kerboran, who was among the PKK militants killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the southeastern Hakkari province on July 8.

Uca and Tiryaki attended the funeral of the militant in Batman and raised his coffin on their shoulders during the ceremony.

The PKK is listed as a terror organization by the Turkish government, the U.S. and the EU.

Four decades of armed conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and the PKK has not yet been resolved.