Turkey: Opposition members accused of terror propaganda

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Mayor and parliamentarians from Turkey’s opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were charged on Friday for terror propaganda, a judicial source said.

Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli -- who according to unofficial results has been elected as mayor of southeastern Diyarbakir province -- and parliamentarians from eastern Agri province -- Berdan Ozturk and Hulya Alokmen -- have been accused of hailing PKK terror members at a meeting in the province on Thursday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Last Sunday, millions of Turkish voters nationwide voted in local elections to choose mayors, city council members, mukhtars (neighborhood officials), and members of elder councils for the next five years.

Turkish authorities have accused the HDP of being a front group for the terrorist PKK.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur