London’s Metropolitan Police on Tuesday said six suspects have been charged with being members of the PKK terrorist group following an investigation about alleged terrorist activities associated with the group.
Five men aged 23, 27, 31, 56 and 62, and two women aged 31 and 59, were arrested across London late last month as part of the probe into the proscribed PKK. Police searched a Kurdish community center in Haringey, north London, among other locations.
The suspects were charged on Monday under the Terrorism Act and are due to appear in court on Tuesday, the police said.
A 31-year-old man who had previously been arrested as part of the investigation was released from police custody without charge on Sunday, the police said.
“The charges brought about in this case are very serious and come about following an extensive investigation by our detectives,” Acting Commander Helen Flanagan, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said.
“We fully recognize the concern and impact this investigation has had upon the local community and continue to work closely with local policing colleagues to keep them updated,” she added.
Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, who leads local policing for the Haringey area, thanked members of the local community for their patience and assured the police would continue to engage with the Kurdish community members to keep updated and address any concerns.
There continues to be an increased police presence in the affected areas in Haringey, and local neighborhood officers are carrying out additional patrols and engaging with residents to address any concerns, the police said.
The suspects’ Nov. 27 arrest sparked two days of protests in north London as supporters of the PKK raised riots and clashed with the police. The protesters chanted slogans against Türkiye and the United Kingdom while calling for “Freedom for Öcalan,” referring to Abdullah Öcalan, the convicted ringleader of the PKK, who is serving a life sentence in Türkiye.
The PKK is a terrorist group responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terrorists aimed at establishing so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Türkiye and has been banned in the U.K. since 2001.
Turkish officials have complained that European and U.S. officials – including its partners in NATO – have done too little to crack down on activities within their borders of the violent terrorist organization, including drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion.