ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkey issued an arrest warrant for 44 people suspected of involvement in the money transfer to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Wednesday.
The investigation was based in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and targeted the PKK's financial structure, after claims of irregularities involving bidders from pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) municipalities.
The money gathered by these municipalities from bidders was allegedly transferred to the PKK after the 2019 local elections, the agency reported.
The investigation covers six provinces, and the suspects included the deputy chair of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Last week, Turkish authorities issued an arrest warrant for 91 people, including members of the HDP, on suspicion of being PKK members and linked with acts of "financing terror."
The Turkish government blames the HDP for being a political front for the outlawed PKK. The party, which has 55 seats in the 600-member parliament, denies any links to the PKK.
Turkish authorities earlier arrested several mayors of the HDP municipalities as part of terrorism-related investigations. More than 45 HDP mayors were replaced with government-appointed officials since the 2019 local elections in which the party won 65 municipalities.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. ■
