Co-mayors of Turkey's Diyarbakır arrested

Kışanak is a former member of parliament from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) ranks before her election as mayor in Diyarbakır. 

 

The duo were taken into custody as part of an investigation into their alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Diyarbakır Prosecutor’s Office said in a written statement. 

 

The two are accused of making speeches in support of the PKK, allowing PKK militants use municipal resources, inciting violent protests, and of attending illegal meetings and rallies, the prosecutor’s statement said.

 

The HDP's sister Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) former lawmaker Ayla Akat Ata was also arrested. 

 

Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu criticized on Oct. 27 the detention of the co-mayors, asking why Kışanak and Anlı were not detained previously "if they supported terror.”