ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The deputy co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Alp Altınörs has been jailed after spending a week in custody.
Altınörs, who was detained in a police raid on his home last Friday, stands accused of membership in a “terrorist organization” by the public prosecutor’s office in the central town of Tokat.
The Pro-Kurdish HDP said in a statement following his detention that Altınörs was arrested on the accusation he attended the funeral of Zakir Karabulut, a HDP executive from Tokat. Karabulut was killed in a suspected ISIS suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara on October 10, 2015.
In a statement released on Friday responding to the new of Altınörs’ further detention, HDP’s National Executive Committee said the case against its deputy was based on unfounded allegations and fabricated evidence from secret witnesses.
HDP added that funerals are open to the public and attendance is not a crime.
A total of 16 HDP officials, including the party’s provincial co-chair in Tokat, were arrested as part of a simultaneous “anti-terror” operation by the Turkish authorities last Friday.
The party’s co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ face charges of “terrorism” alongside dozens of their party colleagues in the Turkish parliament.
The Turkish parliament voted in May to lift immunity from a select group of lawmakers, including many HDP MPs, accused of terrorism-related offenses.
Altınörs, who was detained in a police raid on his home last Friday, stands accused of membership in a “terrorist organization” by the public prosecutor’s office in the central town of Tokat.
The Pro-Kurdish HDP said in a statement following his detention that Altınörs was arrested on the accusation he attended the funeral of Zakir Karabulut, a HDP executive from Tokat. Karabulut was killed in a suspected ISIS suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara on October 10, 2015.
In a statement released on Friday responding to the new of Altınörs’ further detention, HDP’s National Executive Committee said the case against its deputy was based on unfounded allegations and fabricated evidence from secret witnesses.
HDP added that funerals are open to the public and attendance is not a crime.
A total of 16 HDP officials, including the party’s provincial co-chair in Tokat, were arrested as part of a simultaneous “anti-terror” operation by the Turkish authorities last Friday.
The party’s co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ face charges of “terrorism” alongside dozens of their party colleagues in the Turkish parliament.
The Turkish parliament voted in May to lift immunity from a select group of lawmakers, including many HDP MPs, accused of terrorism-related offenses.
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