Turkish authorities arrest 14 members of the opposition People’s Party

The opposition People’s Democratic Party in Turkey said authorities arrested 14 people affiliated with the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party in Istanbul.

The arrest is part of the investigation launched in credit at the HDP Istanbul regional conference on 12 December.

The Istanbul prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, in the background that during the conference the slogan praising the leader of the terrorist organization was chanted and organizational anthems were sung.

The arrests were carried out on Friday morning, as part of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office.

Among those arrested are HDP executives.

Another 18 people arrested

Last month, Turkish authorities arrested 18 people, including leaders of the People’s Democratic Party, in 4 Turkish states accused of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Diyarbakir Security Directorate carried out a simultaneous operation within Diyarbakir and in some areas of the states of Izmir, Antalya and Mardin.

THE media state officials also confirmed the arrest of officials in party subsidiary centers in the four states and the confiscation of organizational books and journals, regulatory documents and digital materials.

“systematic policy”

For its part, the Kurdish majority party stressed that the arrests are only part of a systematic policy pursued by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ally, the Nationalist Movement Party, to permanently close the party.

He also considered it a political step to tighten the screws on the opposition in view of the 2023 elections.