PA
The PKK has been labelled a terrorist group by the UK government since 2001.

Six people have been charged over their membership to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

After an investigation by counter-terrorism police, the Metropolitan Police named Turkan Ozcan, 59, Mazlum Sayak, 27, Berfin Kerban, 31, Ali Boyraz, 62, Ercan Akbal, 56, and Agit Karatas, 23, as all having been charged with ties to the group known as the PKK.

Under the Terrorism Act of 2000, six members were arrested and detained on Wednesday 27 November. They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The Kurdish People’s Democratic Assembly of Britain has told City News that these charges are politically motivated and linked to the UK’s ties with Turkey.

“The UK’s collaboration with the Turkish authorities undermines justice, human rights and the very notion of democracy.”

Kurdish People’s Democratic Assembly of Britain

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, founded in 1978, is a separatist organisation which advocates for an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkey. In 2001, the UK proscribed the PKK as a Terror group, thus banning it.

Helen Flanagan, acting commander of the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said:

“It is important that communities right across London know that where we suspect any kind of potential terrorist activity, then we will look to investigate and take action to disrupt that in order to keep everybody safe.”

Helen Flanagan, Metropolitan Police

Mark Campbell, a pro-Kurdish rights campaigner, says that the Kurdish people have been made a “scapegoat” by the UK government. He contests it is as “dangerous to be a Kurd in the UK as it is in Turkey.”

“This is the worst repression by the British government on the Kurdish community in the past 30 years and it begs the question, why now?”

Mark Campbell

This is a developing story, we will bring you more details as they come. Please refresh the page to update.

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