The hearing of the lawsuit against Musa Farisoğulları, a former deputy of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was held at the 10th Heavy Penal Court in Diyarbakır on Wednesday. Farisoğulları and his lawyers did not attend the hearing.

The politician faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years in prison for “membership in a terrorist organisation”, up to 7 years and 6 months for “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organisation” and up to 3 years for “opposing the law on meetings and demonstrations”. The prosecutor also seeks a penalty increase in the hearing against the Kurdish politician.

The court adjourned the hearing until 1 December to allow for a defence by Farisoğulları and his lawyers.

On 4 June 2020, HDP deputies Musa Farisoğulları and Leyla Güven were stripped of their parliamentary mandates and imprisoned. Although the two deputies had parliamentary immunities after being elected as MPs in 2018, the court cases against them were not suspended and continued. On 24 September 2019, the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld their prison sentences: nine-year prison sentence for Farisoğlulları and six-year prison sentence for Güven on terrorism related charges. These sentences were within the context of the infamous witch-hunt called the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) main case, which started after the victory of the Democratic Society Party (DTP – one of HDP’s predecessors) in 2019. Then 154 Kurdish politicians were prosecuted, among whom were the then co-chairs of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), its deputies, mayors, municipal council members, human rights defenders, journalists and intellectuals. On 28 March 2017, the Diyarbakır 2nd Assize Court sentenced over one hundred Kurdish politicians in the KCK case. Farisoğlulları was released from prison in March 2022.