Democratic Regions Party (Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi - DBP) Amed Provincial Branch Co-chair Hafize İpek is on trial for speaking against the blockade and “curfew” in Sur.

İpek is accused with “terrorist propaganda” and the second hearing for the case was held in Diyarbakır Criminal Court No.4. İpek didn’t attend the hearing while her lawyers were present. The prosecutor demanded İpek be punished for the crime of “terrorist propaganda”.

“SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WITHIN THE FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION”

Lawyer Keziban Yılmaz said İpek’s speech should be considered within the freedom of thought and expression, and that there were no grounds for a crime.

THE COURT: “SHE MAY COMMIT THE CRIME AGAIN”

The board of judges announced their verdict after a short break in the hearing. İpek first received an 18 months prison sentence for the crime of “terrorist propaganda”. The court ruled that İpek had repeated this crime several times on different dates and thus had created a “chain of crime”, then increased her sentence 25% to 20 months 15 days. Due to good behaviour, İpek’s sentence was reduced to 18 months and 22 days, but the punishment wasn’t postponed because the board wasn’t convinced that İpek won’t commit the crime again in the future.

PROTESTING THE PARIS MASSACRE IS A CRIME!

The second hearing for the lawsuit filed against İpek with the allegation of “terrorist propaganda” for a speech she gave in an event in Amed on the anniversary of the massacre of Kurdish women politicians Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris on January 9, 2015 was held in Diyarbakır Criminal Court No.4. The panel of judges sentenced İpek to an administrative fine of 6 thousand liras with the allegation that she committed the crime “terrorist propaganda” for the speech she gave in the event.