Turkey's Ministry of the Interior announces that charges have been brought against 33 of those arrested in the extensive protests against the government's decision to replace three mayors with government-loyal individuals about a week ago.
The three dismissed mayors in the cities of Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti belong to the largest pro-Kurdish party DEM. They were elected in the local election in March when opposition candidates were elected in many cities around Turkey.
"Terror links"
The government accuses the mayors of having links to "terrorism". The reason is that the government suspects connections with the terrorist-stamped Kurdish PKK.
An additional 37 people have been placed under surveillance, according to the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara. Three people are under house arrest. Around 250 people have also been deprived of their liberty for participating in government-critical protests.
The extensive demonstrations in southeastern Turkey were met with powerful and occasionally violent police interventions, where armored vehicles and water cannons were used to disperse those participating in the banned protests.
Istanbul affected
Earlier, the mayor of the Esenyurt district in Istanbul was arrested. He belongs to the largest opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), and he is also accused by Ankara of having links to the banned PKK.
The development in Turkey has been criticized in strong terms by, among others, the European Council.
