The Mayor of Turkish province of Van, Bekir Kaya and two others were arrested in the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) probe, thus raising the number of jailed mayors from Peace and Democracy Party to 33, Hürriyet Daily News reported.

Kaya was arrested along with the BDP’s Van Provincial Head Cüneyt Caniş and İhsan Güler, Van’s Başkale district’s former mayor on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization.

“The number of the arrested officials was already 32, now we add another one to the list and it may even increase,” BDP parliamentary group leader Hasip Kaplan told the HDN.

The mayors in prison pending trial are accused of being members of the KCK, the alleged urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Kerem Akdoğan, Kaya’s lawyer, said they will object to the court’s decision.

“The evidence presented in the file has no legal value. The operations of the municipality are shown as if they are done for the KCK,” he said.