In the parliamentary elections on May 14, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which is under threat of being banned, contested under the umbrella of the Green Left Party, which has been constantly targeted by the Turkish regime since.

Turkish police carried out raids in the province of Tekirdağ in western Turkey today. During the operation in the early morning hours, five executives and members of the Green Left Party were taken into custody.

The detainees are accused of “membership in a terrorist organization”, meaning the PKK. A confidentiality order was placed on the file.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime has consistently criminalised the HDP since unilaterally ending the dialogue process with the Kurdish movement in 2015. Thousands of members have been arrested as alleged terror supporters and enemies of the state, including former co-chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, as well as dozens of mayors of Kurdish municipalities. Ankara wants to render pro-Kurdish politics incapable of action and is now also demonising the Green Left Party as "terrorist".