ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police have detained a prominent pro-Kurdish party politician who was staging a days-long protest in parliament. Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu was released after questioning several hours later Sunday. Gergerlioglu, who is from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, refused to leave parliament after he was stripped of his status and immunity as lawmaker on Wednesday. The party said around 100 police officers entered parliament to detain him. Gergerlioglu was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to two years and six months in prison for “spreading terrorist propaganda” after he retweeted a 2016 news article about a call for peace by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
