Authorities announced on Monday a member of the PKK terrorist group was arrested in Germany after his extradition from Italy.
Selahattin K., a ringleader of the PKK's regional divisions in Germany, was arrested at Frankfurt Airport on Friday, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. The accused has been a key figure in the terrorist group, and in 2014-2015, he was responsible for PKK activities in various German cities, according to prosecutors. He oversaw the terrorist group's propaganda, recruitment and fundraising activities in major cities, including Frankfurt am Main, Dortmund, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Essen.
"The accused gave instructions to the ‘area managers,’ rank and file and activists under his command, and monitored their implementation. He was involved in the organization and implementation of propaganda events and meetings,” the prosecutors said.
"Selahattin K. himself was required to report to the so-called European leadership of the terrorist organization and had to follow their instructions,” they added.
German prosecutors earlier issued a European arrest warrant for Selahattin K. as part of their counterterrorism investigation, and later he was arrested by Italian authorities in June, according to the statement. The PKK, classified as an "ethno-nationalist" terrorist organization by the EU's law enforcement agency Europol, has been banned in Germany since 1993. However, it remains active in the country with nearly 15,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population, according to the German domestic intelligence agency, BfV. The terrorist group raised at least 16 million euros ($17.6 million) in Germany last year in various fundraising campaigns, according to German estimates.
Türkiye has long urged its NATO ally Germany to take stronger action against the PKK, stressing that the terrorist group uses the country as a platform for recruitment, propaganda and fundraising activities. In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people.
According to an annual report by BfV, the PKK has the largest number of followers among foreign terrorist groups that are active in Germany. Last year, PKK members committed 286 crimes, including violent attacks, resulting in both personal injury and property damage, it said. The PKK has recruited more than 300 foreign fighters from Germany since 2013, and they were given military training in Syria and Iraq, the report said. At least 41 of these foreign fighters died in battle zones, while nearly 160 returned to Germany in recent years, the report said, without giving any further details.
