05 July 2018•Update: 05 July 2018
By Ekrem Payan
SIRNAK, Turkey
A total of 32 people have been arrested for their alleged links to the PKK/KCK terror group across Turkey, according to security sources on Thursday.
In Istanbul, police arrested PKK terror group member Gulizar Tasdemir, 42, at Ataturk Airport, a source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Tasdemir’s arrest came following her deportation from Norway when her asylum request was rejected.
During her body search, police seized two cellphones, two SIM cards, three flash memory cards as well as digital material, documents related to the terror group and photographs shot alongside Ocalan.
Recruited by the PKK in 1991, Tasdemir received armed training at the Mahmur camp, Iraq, and was with Ocalan, the jailed head of the PKK terrorist organization, for many years.
In 2013, the Public Prosecutor's Office in eastern Erzurum had issued an arrest warrant for Tasdemir for membership in an armed terror group.
Separately, police arrested six suspects for collaborating with terror group members during eastern Kars-based operation across three provinces.
Earlier, 25 suspects were arrested during an anti-terror operation in Cizre district of southern Sirnak province. Digital material and documents related to the terror group were also seized in the operations.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.
