Another PKK terrorist has surrendered to Turkish security forces, raising the number surrendering so far this year to 130, the Interior Ministry announced Monday.
The terrorist surrendered as a result of the persuasion efforts of the police and gendarmerie forces coordinated by the ministry. According to the ministry’s statement, the terrorist joined the PKK in 2015 and carried out activities in Iraq.
In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for sentence reductions under a repentance law.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
The dissolution of the PKK has accelerated due to Turkey's successful counterterrorism operations and strategies both at home and abroad. In recent years, Turkey has seen record numbers of PKK terrorists giving themselves up in the face of determined domestic and cross-border counterterrorism operations.
Protests by a group of families in front of the pro-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in Diyarbakır demanding the return of their sons and daughters, who were recruited to fight for the terrorists, has also helped increase the number of people surrendering.
The protest started when Hacire Akar turned up at the doorstep of the HDP’s Diyarbakır office one night after the PKK abducted her son. A week later, on Sept. 3, 2019, families inspired by Akar transformed her solo stance into a collective sit-in protest.
The calls by the families to their children urging them to come back home and surrender, as well as the persuasion efforts by security forces, have been influential. The Interior Ministry recently announced that another family would soon reunite with their child.
