Germany arrests senior terrorist group PKK figure in Berlin

BERLIN

A senior figure of the terrorist group PKK – a group that has plagued Türkiye for decades – has been arrested in Berlin, authorities announced on Friday.

The suspect, identified only as Mehmet K., was arrested on charges of membership in a foreign terrorist group, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

The accused has been one of the key figures of the terror group, and most recently oversaw the PKK's activities in Berlin, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony, according to the prosecutors.

“The accused gave instructions to the rank-and-file and activists under his command and monitored their implementation. He helped to organize and carry out propaganda events and meetings. One focus of his work was also monitoring the collection of ‘donations’ for the PKK,” the prosecutors said. Turkish officials have long charged that the terrorist PKK uses extortion in Europe to get so-called “donations” for the group.

The PKK has been on the EU’s terror groups list since 2002, and has been classified as an "ethno-nationalist" and "separatist" terrorist organization by the bloc’s police agency, Europol.

Despite the ban, the group remains active in Germany with nearly 15,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population, according to the country’s domestic intelligence agency BfV.

Türkiye has long urged its NATO ally Germany to take stronger action against the PKK, stressing that the terrorist group uses the country as a platform for its illegal activities.

In its more 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people.