Turkish court remands in custody 2 more HDP officials

By Muhammed Enes Can and Halil İbrahim Sincar

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Turkish court Thursday remanded in custody nine suspects, including two opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) provincial officials, over alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization, a judicial source said.

HDP Istanbul Provincial Chair Dogan Erbas and Vice Chair Aysel Guzel were arrested in an overnight operation early Thursday along with 30 other suspects, added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Eleven of the suspects were taken to court, the source said, and nine of the 11 were remanded in custody for being members of an armed terrorist organization.

The two other suspects were released on judicial control, while procedures continue for the remaining detainees.

In a separate incident, a Turkish court in the southeastern Mardin province remanded in custody four suspects, including a mayor, said a judicial source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The four suspects, including Suleyman Tekin, the mayor of Omerli, Mardin, were arrested on Dec. 27 for alleged links to a car bomb attack on the local gendarmerie building on June 23.

The mayor and three municipality workers were remanded in custody for being members of an armed terrorist organization.

Last month, 13 HDP lawmakers were arrested, and 10 of them, including HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, remain in custody awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.

The lawmakers face prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted earlier this year.

The government has accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU.