17 February 2017•Update: 17 February 2017
SIRNAK, Turkey
A Turkish court Friday remanded in custody an opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker over alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization, a judicial source said.
HDP Sirnak Deputy Ferhat Encu was detained last November under a counter-terrorism investigation, and Sirnak prosecutors are seeking up to 15 years in jail for him on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization.
On Wednesday Encu had been released by the second High Criminal Court in Sirnak pending trial.
But on Friday he was detained again.
In November, 13 HDP lawmakers were also arrested, and 10 of them -- including HDP co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- remain in custody pending trial on terrorism-related charges.
The lawmakers face prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted last March.
Turkey’s government has accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.
Reporting by Ekrem Payan; Writing by Hatice Kesgin
