Dozens of suspects across Turkey were detained as part of an operation against the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization that encompasses the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and related organizations, on Thursday, June 14.
Today’s Zaman reports that eight were detained on charges of being members of the KCK and were referred to a court in the eastern province of Ağrı. After months of intelligence gathering, Ağrı Police Department counterterrorism units launched an operation against the KCK urban branch in Ağrı's Doğubayazıt district on June 11, and captured 15 after raiding 14 different addresses. Eight of the 15 were arrested following a court decision.
In another operation against the KCK on Wednesday, police detained 16, including women, in the southeastern province of Hakkari as part of an investigation headed by the Van Deputy Public Prosecutor's Office. The detainees were referred to a court in the eastern province of Van on Thursday. Police took strict security measures in front of the courthouse.
Four people were arrested as part of an operation against the KCK in the western province of Bursa on Thursday. Twelve suspects, six of them women, were detained on charges of “disseminating the propaganda of the PKK and recruiting new militants for the terrorist organization” after Bursa Police Department counterterrorism units raided several offices and addresses.
Four of the detainees were released pending trial while four others, including Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Council member Ayla Yıldırım, were sent to prison following a court ruling. The remaining detainees are still being questioned.
