The wave of arrests, which includes Kurdish politicians, activists and refugees following Sunday’s attack on Turkey’s police headquarters in Ankara has continued unabated, with the Turkish authorities arresting another 37 people on Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 124 in just three days.
The operation, which is targeting prominent politicians and representatives of non-governmental organisations and pro-Kurdish political parties, was launched after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) set off a bomb outside the Turkey’s police headquarters, the General Directorate of Security, which is attached to the Ministry of Interior on Sunday. On Monday, at least 20 people including members of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were arrested in Istanbul and Kırklareli. The detainees are being held at Istanbul’s main police station and they are exprected to be questioned today.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday that 67 people had been detained across the country. The operation, which centred on the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa (Riha) and covered several other cities, also targeted a number of refugees.
A further 37 people, a significant number of whom are Syrian nationals, were arrested countrywide on Wednesday morning.
