FP Explainer: Why Does Turkey Always Arrest So Many People at the Same Time?

To make a statement.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | OCTOBER 21, 2010

This week in the eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, 151 Kurdish activists, including 12 mayors of local towns, were put on trial for ties to the militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). In addition to the crime of belonging to the group, the activists are also accused of holding illegal demonstrations and distributing anti-government propaganda. According to reports, a special courtroom had to be built in Diyarbakir because of the number of defendants.

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