JINHA

ISTANBUL – Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) volunteers performed a citizens' arrest of AKP supporters spreading sexist and homophobic handbills against the HDP in Istanbul.

Turkey's ruling AKP has been seemingly more invested in spreading propaganda against the HDP than promoting its own policies during Turkey's elections campaign. If the HDP draws votes beneath Turkey's extremely high 10% electoral threshold to enter Parliament, most of the provinces where it has polled highest will go over to the AKP candidate. The anti-HDP propaganda has attempted to play on the conservative religious vote. Notable AKP members' anti-HDP statements rarely leave the realm of the outlandish: a claim that party general co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş took bacon at a hotel buffet and allegations that the HDP is a "party of Zoroastrians."

Last night, with just days to go until Turkey's election, a mysterious group was found in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighborhood distributing sensational unsigned handbills against HDP candidates. HDP activists performed a citizens' arrest of two of the group, who turned out to be AKP supporters.

One section of the handbill questions the credentials of openly gay HDP candidate Barış Sulu, who is not of Kurdish origin, to represent the Kurdish population. Another section of the handbill accuses Kurdish woman candidate Ayla Akat Ata of wanting Kurds to become Christians.

The Zeytinburnu HDP organization released an announcement saying they intend to pursue legal action for the propaganda handbills and denounced the AKP for secretly using state resources to undertake illegal and unjust elections activity.

(ed/fk/cm)