Turkish police have detained 24 people for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda” on social media related to Ankara’s military operation against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, the interior ministry said on Monday. President Tayyip Erdogan has overseen a sweeping crackdown since a failed coup in 2016 that critics say has unjustly targeted pro-Kurdish politicians. Leaders of Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), are in jail on terrorism charges, which they deny. LAWMAKERS TARGETEDAuthorities were also investigating social media posts about the military operation allegedly made by two HDP lawmakers, including a post from the party’s spokesman, Ayhan Bilgen, Anadolu said. Freedom House, a Washington-based watchdog, downgraded Turkey to “not free” from “partly free” in an annual report this month.

Source: Egypt Independent January 22, 2018 11:03 UTC