HDP party council member jailed in Van

Kurdish local politician Fırat Keser has been arrested in Van province. The pre-trial detention order was issued on Friday evening based on an investigation dating back to 2010.

Keser, who voluntarily went to the Van Courthouse to give his statement yesterday, was connected to the chief public prosecutor’s office in the western Turkish coastal city of Aydın via the video conferencing system SEGBIS. The politician, a member of the party council of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), is accused of membership in a terrorist organization. What he is specifically accused of is still completely unclear.

Keser has already been transferred to the high-security prison in Van. The provincial association of the HDP is outraged by the actions of the Turkish judicial authorities. “Our reaction to these attacks, which take place beyond the valid law, will be our insistence on democratic politics,” said the HDP branch in Van.