6 charged with being members of PKK terror group in UK

LONDON

Six people out of seven arrested last month in London have been charged with being a member of proscribed group, PKK terrorist organization, police said Tuesday.

The four men and 2 women were arrested on Nov. 27 following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command into suspected activity linked to the proscribed terrorist group the PKK.

The arrests came with searches at different addresses were followed by clashes between the supporters of the terror group and police officers in Harringay, north London.

"Following consultation with and authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service, all six [A-F] were charged with membership of a terrorist organisation – namely the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or ‘PKK’ – contrary to section 11 of the Terrorism Act, 2000," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Turkan Ozcan, 59, Mazlum Sayak, 27, Berfin Kerban, 31, Ali Boyraz, 62, Ercan Akbal, 56, and Agit Karatas, 23 have been charged following the investigation.

It noted that a 31-year-old man who had previously been arrested as part of this investigation was released from police custody without charge on Sunday.

"It is important that communities right across London know that where we suspect any kind of potential terrorist activity, then we will look to investigate and take action to disrupt that in order to keep everybody safe," Acting Commander Helen Flanagan, from the Counter Terrorism Command, said in the statement.​​​​​​​

The police statement added the six will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday.

The PKK, responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people in Türkiye, is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, US, UK, and EU.