Kurdish politician, lawyer and writer Mahmut Alinak was arrested four days ago in his apartment in Kars province. While in police custody, he told his lawyer: "The fight for dignity has been a part of me since childhood. I am in the fight for dignity. Don't worry about me."

Today Alinak was brought before the judge who issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of membership to a terrorist organisation. The Kurdish politician is accused of criticism of the Turkish government, among other things. Other suspicions include conversations with his relatives, the proposal to mediate between two quarrelling families and the joint collection of garbage with the garbage collection service in Amed (Diyarbakir) which intended to raise public awareness of environmental protection. Alinak is also accused of having donated the proceeds of his book "Mehmet Tunç and Bêkes" to the family of the chairman of the local People's Council who died in one of the death basements of Cizre, Şırnak in 2016.

Who is Mahmut Alinak?

Mahmut Alinak was born in 1952 in Digor in the province of Kars. He studied law in Ankara and became a lawyer. In 1987 he entered the Turkish parliament for the first time as a member of the SHP. In 1994, after the lifting of parliamentary immunity, he was arrested together with Orhan Doğan, Hatip Dicle, Ahmet Türk, Sırrı Sakık and Leyla Zana. In prison he wrote his first two books.

Alinak was imprisoned several times. In 2011, he was arrested during the KCK operations and spent seven months in prison. In 2014 he spent another three months in prison.