Turkish lawmaker arrested in anti-terror probe released

By Hasan Namli

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

An opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker, arrested for failing to answer a summons linked to a counterterrorism investigation, was released Tuesday, said a judicial source.

The party lawmaker for Turkey's eastern Agri province, Dirayet Tasdemir, was released by a southeastern Diyarbakir court after being arrested earlier on Tuesday.

Tasdemir had already been detained on March 20 on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist group. She was released later that day.

Last November, 13 HDP lawmakers were arrested, and 10 of them -- including HDP co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- remain in custody awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.

The lawmakers face prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted last March.

Turkey’s government has accused the HDP of being linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.