Alwaght- Turkish security forces arrested two more lawmakers over alleged links to Kurdish militant groups.
Caglar Demirel, representing the largest Kurdish-populated city of Diyarbakir, and Besime Konca, from the city of Siirt, were arrested on Tuesday. They are both with the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, also known as the HDP.
The party confirmed their arrest through a message on its Tweeter account saying "Head of the party's parliamentary group, Caglar Demirel, and Siirt MP, Besime Konca, were unlawfully detained in front of our (Ankara) headquarters."
The parliament members, both women, are charged with relations to Kurdish groups involved in terrorist attacks on Turkish targets, Anadolu news agency reported.
The country's Dogan news agency said Konca was taken to court in the southeastern province of Batman, where she was released under judicial control.
The agency said an investigation had been launched into the lawmaker after she allegedly spoke at the funeral of a man killed during security operations against Kurdish militants in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
In May, the Turkish parliament adopted a bill that lifted immunity for dozens of lawmakers, which government critics feared would cause HDP lawmakers face criminal prosecution and lose parliamentary seats.
On Monday, nearly 240 people were also arrested for similar charges. Turkey’s Interior Ministry said the detentions were made in 11 provinces, adding that the 235 people were held on charges of "spreading terror group propaganda" over social media and acting on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Among those arrested were nearly 120 officials of the HDP, the second-largest opposition party in the Turkish parliament.
The main leaders of the HDP have already been jailed pending trial over alleged ties to the PKK. Ankara accuses the HDP of acting as the PKK's political arm.
