A Kurdish local politician has been arrested in Van (Wan) on suspicion of membership of the PKK.

Rojbin Kartal Manzak had been in police custody since the beginning of the week. On Thursday, the criminal department of the Van District Court ordered the 37-year-old to be remanded in custody. The mother of two was transferred to Van's T-type prison.

It was not initially possible to find out what the accusation against Rojbin Kartal Manzak specifically referred to, as the investigation file was classified as confidential. The politician, born in 1997 in Patnos (Panos) in the Kurdish province of Ağrı (Agirî), is a member of the DEM party and ran for the office of co-mayor in her hometown in the local elections last year, but was ultimately defeated by the candidate of the ruling AKP party. It is still unclear whether and when charges will be brought against her.

The human rights association IHD has been complaining for years that the Turkish judiciary is abusing the anti-terror laws and the extremely broad interpretation of what "terror" is to suppress dissenting opinions. Baseless accusations of terrorism are systematically exploited, especially among Kurds and leftists, to punish undesirable political actions. Even political speeches, critical writings and participation in demonstrations are prosecuted as "terrorism". This applies, for example, to the way the PKK is being dealt with.