The Batman 2nd High Criminal Court issued a detention warrant on Tuesday for pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Batman deputies Ayşe Acar Başaran and Saadet Becerikli on accusations of disseminating terrorist propaganda.
According to a story on the T24 website, the court decided to issue the warrant after the two HDP deputies failed to appear at earlier hearings.
Meanwhile, the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court also issued a detention warrant for former Diyarbakır Co-mayor Fırat Anlı, who was released four days ago pending trial.
The Diyarbakır court took the decision after a prosecutor objected Anlı’s release.
Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians and co-chairs have been arrested on terror charges. The developments have attracted widespread criticism from the region and Western countries. (turkishminute.com) July 18, 2017
