The Istanbul Police Department's Counterterrorism Unit has detained 20 people for alleged links to the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella political organization that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), early on Tuesday, May 15.
Counterterrorism units conducted simultaneous operations in the Avcılar, Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt districts of Istanbul and took 20 people into custody. The detainees are accused of being members of the KCK's youth branch, the Democratic Patriotic Youth Council (DYGM). The suspects were first taken to the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for a mandatory health check and then taken to a police station in Istanbul’s Fatih district.
The KCK investigation began in December 2009, and a large number of Kurdish politicians, including several mayors from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), have been detained. The suspects are accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country's unity and integrity.
BDP officials have said the investigation is the government's method of suppressing BDP politicians, denying any links between the suspects and any terrorist organizations.
