Three Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) members were detained on Saturday as part of the investigation into a drive-by shooting that left singer Ä°brahim Tatlises seriously injured last week.

The detentions come after seven individuals who are allegedly members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were taken into custody.

The prime suspect is Abdullah Uçmak, who got caught in gunfire and was injured during a shooting 15 years ago, which he claims was ordered by Tatlises, although Uçmak was not the intended target of that shooting. The enmity that began at the time was thought to be the motivation for the attack, which is likely to leave Tatlises paralyzed in his left side, but investigators now say the terrorist PKK could also have been involved. The 10 people who have been detained in the investigation are suspected of aiding and abetting Ucmak, who used a Kalashnikov, the PKK’s most frequently used weapon, in the attack.

Meanwhile, interrogation of suspect Yunus A., who was behind the wheel at the time of the attack, was concluded, and he was referred to a judge, who put him under arrest on charges of attempted murder.

News reports yesterday suggest that the PKK could have been trying to punish Tatlises, who is a Kurd from the southeastern city of Urfa, for his recent decision to run as a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) candidate in the upcoming elections. News reports said e-mails from pro-PKK individuals accusing Tatlises of betrayal had been found on the computer of a lawyer who was arrested in the probe. One e-mail found on the lawyer’s computer says, “The unfinished job should be finished.” An e-mail after the shooting says “[Tatlises’] recent affinity with the AK Party encouraged AK Party collaborators. This is betraying our people.”

The PKK in the past two weeks has issued threats against Kurdish singer Sivan Perwer, and Kurdish writers Orhan Miroglu, Muhsin Kizilkaya and Mehmet Metiner for their support of the AK Party government’s Kurdish initiative, launched two years ago in an attempt to end separatist violence by extending more cultural rights to Kurds.

Tatlises, who was hit in the head by four bullets during the attack on March 14, remains at an Istanbul hospital, where he spent the first two days in a coma. His condition has greatly improved, but doctors say there could be some permanent brain damage manifesting itself as limited or no mobility in the left side of his body.