Police remand district mayor in SE Turkey

Turkish police detained the mayor of a central district in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır and two members of the district assembly on Dec. 20.

Sur Mayor Filiz Buluttekin from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) stands accused of being a member of the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, making terrorist propaganda and insulting the Turkish state and nation.

Buluttekin attended the funeral of senior PKK member Mehmet Yakışır, known to have killed 15-year-old boy Eren Bülbül in 2017.

She is also accused of attending the funerals of other terrorists as well as supporting their families and receiving instructions from PKK ringleaders.

Prior to the investigation, Buluttekin was sentenced to 10 months in prison for PKK propaganda.

Ankara has appointed acting mayors to 31 HDP municipalities in southeastern cities and districts since the March elections, according to the HDP, and 23 of the HDP's co-mayors are currently jailed pending trial.

In mid-August, mayors in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van were suspended over alleged terror links.

They all were from the HDP, a party which Turkey's government accuses of having links to the terrorist group YPG/PKK.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.