Turkish security sources say police detained 110 people for alleged ties to Kurdish militants three weeks before presidential and parliamentary elections that represent the biggest electoral challenge to President Tayyip Erdogan since 2002
The operation was focused on Diyarbakir, the largest city in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, and targeted people across 21 provinces accused of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party militant group.
"On the eve of the election, out of fear of losing power, they have resorted to detention operations again," Peoples' Democratic Party lawmaker Tayip Temel said on Twitter. The prosecutor's office in Diyarbakir declined to comment. One security source said police carried out simultaneous raids on 186 addresses and seized some digital materials after prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 216 people.
Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Associate Director Emma Sinclair-Webb said access to the investigation file was restricted. It was "clearly an abuse of powers and intimidation tactic before election", she said on Twitter.
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