Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ferhat Encü, who was released from jail on Wednesday, was arrested on Friday after the Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office objected to his release.
Encü was first arrested in a police operation on Nov. 4 along with eight other deputies including the party’s Co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. He was released from Kandıra Prison on Wednesday.
Encü was referred to the Şırnak Courthouse on Friday after detention.
Turkey has stepped up its crackdown on Kurdish politicians in recent months. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, while hundreds of local Kurdish politicians have been arrested on terror charges. There are currently 11 HDP deputies behind bars.
The developments have attracted widespread criticism from the region and Western countries.
