A Turkish-German woman, who has been protesting her daughter’s recruitment by the PKK terrorist group, is planning sue the German state for failing to bring back her daughter, she said Thursday.
Protesting in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Maide T. told reporters that she and several other families, whose children were also recruited by the PKK, will be filing a lawsuit against Germany for failing to ensure their return.
"We will sue the German state, which has not done anything to bring our children back. I will file the lawsuit with other families who are in the same situation," she said, adding that six families have joined her so far.
Maide T. urged other families to join their struggle.
A Berlin resident, Maide has been trying to find her daughter, Nilüfer, since Nov. 12, when was kidnapped by the PKK. Yet, all her efforts seem to be in vain as German police refuse to help her.
In late May, she called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to help her and held protests in front of the German Chancellery.
Inviting people to stand in solidarity with her, Maide said her daughter was influenced by PKK propaganda after she visited a cultural center in Berlin last year. Thereafter, she was forcibly recruited and probably sent to a terrorist camp abroad.
The German government has failed to take any action, while Turkish officials criticize Germany for harboring and supporting PKK terrorists. Turkey has long urged German authorities to take more serious measures against the PKK's activities in the country.
The PKK, which is classified as an "ethnonationalist" and "separatist" terrorist organization by the European Union law enforcement agency, Europol, has been banned in Germany since 1993.
It has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 35 years and has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
Despite its status as a designated international terrorist organization, the PKK has enjoyed relative freedom in European cities and has a particularly strong presence in Germany.
PKK supporters have been allowed to hold rallies, recruit militants and collect funds in Germany, which is home to some 5 million people with Turkish origin, including Kurds. The PKK is still active, with nearly 14,000 followers among the country's Kurdish immigrant population.
