Two more Kurdish politicians detained in Turkey

Kurdish politician Mahmut Alınak was detained for “insulting the president” while HDP Turgutlu district branch co-chair was detained because of a speech he had made during an action.

Kurdish politician, lawyer and writer Mahmut Alinak, a former member of the Turkish parliament, was taken into custody in Kars province on Thursday for allegedly “insulting the president”. Alınak was detained in his home and taken to the provincial police department.

Alınak had been arrested on February 17 in Kars on suspicion of “membership to a terrorist organisation”.The Kurdish politician was accused of “disrupting the unity of the state” and “undermining the independence of the state” and faces life sentence. He was released from prison to house arrest following the first hearing held at the 2nd Heavy Penal Court of Kars on May 13. The house arrest order was removed on September 24.

Alınak 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.

On the other hand, police raided the house of Hayri Bökü, co-chair of the HDP Turgutlu district branch in Manisa province. Bökü was not found home and was arrested outside later on.  

Bökü was reportedly detained for mentioning “Kobanê” in a speech he had made during an event organised by the local people in the Çapaklı village on September 30. Bökü was taken to Salihli Gendarmerie Station.