HDP officials sent charity funds to YPG/PKK terrorists, investigation says

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) officials in Turkey’s eastern Kars province sent donations collected during a Muslim holiday to PKK terrorists serving prison sentences and YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria, according to details of the investigation launched in the province Wednesday.

Cengiz Anlı, the party’s Kars chairman, transferred donations collected as part of Ramadan (Islamic alms) to terrorists in prison, according to court records citing phone conversations.

Meanwhile councilor Hamit Taşdelen made donations to the HDP to provide money for the YPG/PKK by donating animal hides to the party to support the terrorist group, according to the investigation.

Taşdelen also kept in touch with terrorists in the Kağızman district’s Çemçe area, while witness testimony revealed he delivered food, logistical equipment and other materials to the terrorists in the area.

The families of terrorists often consulted Anlı on funeral matters, including the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) member Sinan Güneş, whose family called him in April. Authorities also found the contact information of Anlı on the phone of another terrorist named Ömer Oran, who was killed on Feb. 8.

The investigation also revealed that the PKK and the HDP destroyed records about donations collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to phone records between Deputy Mayor Muzazer Çağrıtekinci and IT technician Ersin G., who deleted all donations and aid-related mails off municipality systems.

Security forces have confiscated Ersin G.’s computer, and the municipality has launched disciplinary proceedings against him.

Meanwhile, HDP councilor Hazal Ağdeve worked as a recruiter for the PKK and followed the terrorist group’s orders given by top figures in the Çemçe area to university students.

During an operation on Oct.1, 21 suspects or those suspected of being associated with members of the Kars Municipality were detained. Some 16 suspects were arrested, including the co-mayor of the province, Şevin Alaca.

The investigation was initially launched into the pro-PKK Kobani revolts in 2014, leading to the dismissal of the province’s mayor, Ayhan Bilgen, last month.

The decision came after a Turkish prosecutor prepared a detention warrant last week for 82 suspects, including several mayors, as part of an ongoing probe into incidents during the 2014 Kobani revolts. After a subsequent operation took place on Oct.1, the state-appointed governor of the province Türker Öksüz temporarily replaced Bilgen as a trustee.

The HDP had won three metropolitan and five provincial centers in the 2019 local elections. Bilgen was the last mayor in charge with all others replaced in different investigations targeting the PKK.