AA / Londres / Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
British police announced on Wednesday that they had arrested six people as part of an investigation into alleged activities linked to the PKK terrorist group, responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Türkiye.
“Six people (a 59-year-old woman, a 27-year-old man, a 31-year-old woman, a 62-year-old man, a 56-year-old man and a 23-year-old man) were arrested at separate addresses in London early this morning,” the London Metropolitan Police wrote in a statement.
“They have all been detained under section 41(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000 and are in custody at a London police station. There is currently no imminent public threat linked to the facts under investigation”, we can also read.
The arrests follow “a significant investigation and operation into activities we believe to be linked to the PKK terrorist group”, said Helen Flanagan, acting commander of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command.
“These are targeted arrests of people we suspect of being involved in terrorist activities linked to the PKK,” she stressed.
And to clarify: “I hope that these arrests show that we will not tolerate any type of terrorist activity and that we will take action when we believe that harm is being caused to communities here in the United Kingdom or elsewhere”
– Protection of the “Turkish and Kurdish communities” of the United Kingdom
According to the statement, police are carrying out searches at eight addresses in London, including the Kurdish community center in Haringey, in the north of the British capital.
“Search operations are continuing at these eight locations. The search of the community center is expected to last up to two weeks. The center and surrounding area will be closed to the public while law enforcement continues their work,” the statement said.
Additional police officers will be carrying out patrols and there will be an increased police presence in the area over the coming days, and officers will be available to speak to members of the public who may be concerned, according to the same source.
“This investigation and these activities aim to protect all of our communities, and in particular the Turkish and Kurdish communities. I invite anyone who believes they have been affected or targeted by people linked to the PKK to contact me,” added Helen Flanagan.
“We are aware that the closure of the community center may cause inconvenience to some people. Officers will work as quickly as possible, but these are very serious allegations and so it is important that we take care to identify and gather as much evidence as possible,” said the acting commander of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command.
The PKK terrorist group is banned in Britain, as well as the European Union and the United States, but Turkish officials have complained that European and American officials, including their Treaty Organization partners, North Atlantic (NATO), have not done enough to suppress the activities of this violent terrorist organization on their territories, including drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion.
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