Security forces detained 170 people in Istanbul and other cities for propaganda for the terrorist group PKK, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The Turkish National Police said the suspects were apprehended in operations before and after Nevruz celebrations. The celebrations were organized by groups associated with the PKK, including the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). However, the events over the weekend became a show of force for supporters of the terrorist group. Although Nevruz is a festival commonly observed in the Turkic world to welcome the spring, the PKK in the past hijacked the celebrations for its own propaganda.
Police said operations held in Aydın, Batman, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli, Mardin, Şanlıurfa and Van between March 17 and March 22 led to the capture of 72 suspects charged with violation of public assembly laws and propaganda for a terrorist group. On March 24, operations were carried out in Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Izmir, Şanlıurfa, Antalya and Mardin to detain 98 suspects.
The PKK is in the process of disarmament. The terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in 2024 eventually led to the group’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, to call on the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve itself. The PKK consented to disarmament last year, and its disarmament is currently monitored by Turkish intelligence. Türkiye plans to enact laws to facilitate the process, including lenient sentences for the members. A parliamentary committee has recently wrapped up work on a draft report that will serve as a guide to Parliament to enact those laws or amend the existing regulations. Still, the matter is sensitive for the public due to the PKK’s notorious record of killing thousands of civilians and security officers since the 1980s. Images of pro-PKK groups carrying banners containing terrorist propaganda and a speech by a PKK member convicted of a terrorist attack in 1991 and released last year during a Nevruz event, stirred up outrage among social media users.
