Turkish police has briefly detained Osman Baydemir, a prominent deputy from pr0-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Ankara on Friday.
It was reported that Baydemir was detained by Turkish police as he was leaving the HDP party building in Turkey’s capital Ankara. He was taken to Ankara Prosecutor’s Office following the detention and released after giving his statement.
Baydemir, who was detained by Turkish police several times in recent months, has refused to testify to prosecutors after the arrest of his fellow HDP deputies. So, detention warrants has frequently been issued by Turkish prosecutors for him.
The last time Baydemir was detained by Turkish police in İzmir province on the evening of January 6 over an arrest warrant issued by a Turkish court for him. Baydemir, who had gone to İzmir to attend a party program, had been detained by the police as he was traveling to İzmir Social Security Institution (SGK) Guesthouse to accommodate.
Turkish government has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent times. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians as well as 9 HDP deputies, including the party’s co-chairs, are behind bars on terror charges.
