Germany captured a senior member of the terrorist mob PKK following his extradition from Italy, authorities stated. Selahattin K., a ringleader of the PKK’s regional companies in Germany, was stopped at Frankfurt Airport, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office stated in a statement.
The indicted has been a key figure in the terror group, and in 2014-2015, he was accountable for PKK activities in various German metropolises, according to prosecutors. He headed the terror group’s propaganda, recruitment, and fundraising actions in major cities, including Frankfurt am Main, Dortmund, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Essen. “The indicted gave instructions to the ‘area managers,’ rank and file, and activists under his control, and monitored their performance. He was implicated in the organization and implementation of propaganda affairs and meetings,” the prosecutors said.
“Selahattin K. himself was needed to report to the so-called European leadership of the terrorist organisation and had to observe their instructions,” they added. German prosecutors earlier published a European arrest warrant for Selahattin K. as part of their anti-terrorism inquiry, and later he was captured by Italian authorities in June, according to the statement.
The PKK categorised as an “ethno-nationalist” terrorist organization by the EU’s law enforcement agency Europol, has been outlawed in Germany since 1993. However, it remains engaged in the country with nearly 15,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population, according to the German domestic intelligence agency, BfV. The terrorist group expanded at least €16 million ($17.6 million) in Germany last year in various fundraising movements, according to German estimates.
Türkiye has long insisted its NATO ally Germany take more decisive action against the PKK, stressing that the terrorist group utilises the country as a platform for recruitment, propaganda, and fundraising movements. In its more than 35-year terror drive against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the casualties of some 40,000 people.
According to an annual statement by BfV, the PKK has the largest number of followers among foreign terrorist parties that are active in Germany. Last year, PKK members engaged in 286 crimes, including violent raids, resulting in both personal injury and property damage, it stated. The PKK has compelled more than 300 foreign fighters from Germany since 2013, and they were provided military training in Syria and Iraq, the report stated. At least 41 of these foreign fighters perished in battle zones, while nearly 160 returned to Germany in recent years, the report stated, without giving any further details.
