London, Dec 10 (AP) British police have charged six people with belonging to a banned Kurdish militant group, the PKK.
London's Metropolitan Police force said the suspects were due in court for an initial hearing later Tuesday, charged with “membership of a terrorist organisation.”
The six, aged between 23 and 62, were all arrested in London on November 27. A 31-year-old suspect arrested the same day was released without charge.
The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey aimed at winning an independent Kurdish state and is banned as a terrorist group in the UK.
After the arrests, police searched premises in north London including a Kurdish community center, sparking protests.
Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, who leads local policing for Haringey, an area of London that is home to large Turkish and Kurdish communities, acknowledged local Kurds “have been particularly impacted by this activity.”
“We will continue to engage with Kurdish community members going forwards to keep them updated and address any concerns,” she said. (AP)
AMS