Van Metropolitan Municipality’ Mayor Bekir Kaya was sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in prison last week on the KCK trial he is part of. Kaya has been on remand in the Silivri Prison for 2 years, and there is an ongoing case against him in the Van High Penal Court No.2 filed after trustees were appointed to the municipalities in 2016.

HDP Izmir MP Serpil Kemalbay, HDP Van Provincial Co-chairs Yadişen Karabulak and Ümit Dede, HDP Van MP Muazzez Orhan and Edremito Co-mayor Rojbin Sevil Çetin attended the hearing of the ongoing case today.

The court postponed the hearing to October 18, 2018 and ruled for the continuation of remand for Kaya. HDP Van Provincial Co-chair Ümit Dede and HDP Van MP Muazzez Orhan read a statement after the trial. HDP Izmir MP Serpil Kemalbay also attended the statement.

ORHAN: THE CASE IS NOT LEGAL BUT POLITICAL

In her speech outside the court house, HDP Van MP Muazzez Orhan said: “Mr. Bekir Kaya has this case that has continued for 2 years. Mr. Kaya has spent a great amount of effort for this land, and he is the will of the people of Van. It is an entirely political decision to appoint trustees to HDP municipalities. It has no legal basis. There is still no claim based on evidence after 23 months, but the hearings keep getting postponed. We can see that this is an entirely political decision and that the will of the people is under attack through this. The goal is complete criminalization.”