In this past one and a half year, more than 8,500 HDP members have been detained and 2,488 of them were arrested. HDP provincial and district branches have been attacked some 350 times, 305 of which happened in September. HDP headquarters was set on fire in September and it has been the target of attacks again.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) entered the political scene in October 27, 2013 following a meeting of the Peoples’ Democratic Congress attended by hundreds of people in Ankara. The party was targeted by the AKP government immediately for their stance during the Kobanê defense. HDP taking 13,12% of the vote in the June 7 elections where they ran with the motto “We will not let you be president”, despite all threats and pressure, increased the attacks on the party. The attacks have extended to the arrests of co-chairs and MPs.

OVER 8 THOUSAND DETAINED IN ONE AND A HALF YEAR

According to HDP Press Bureau, in the political genocide operations between July 22, 2015 and December 15, 2016, 8,502 people were detained. 2,488 people were arrested, including co-chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, group deputy chairpersons and MPs. Yüksekdağ and Demirtaş have been kept in isolation in Kandıra Type F Prison and Edirne Type F Prison respectively since November 5.

Since July 2016, in six months, a total of 4,201 people have been detained and 1,059 people arrested.

As of December 15, 2016, since July 2015, 21 HDP Province Co-chairs, 44 HDP District Co-chairs, 17 DBP Province Co-chairs and 42 DBP District Co-chairs have been arrested.

Since July 2015, 12 MPs along with the Co-chairs, 3 Central Executive Committee and 4 Caucus members, over 750 province and district administrators have been arrested. HDP Deputy Co-chair Alp Altınörs has been held in Tokat Prison since September 16 for attending a funeral.

HDP MEMBERS KEPT IN SPORTS HALL IN URFA

734 people including 15 HDP co-chairs have been detained after the bombing in Beşiktaş of December 10. Out of this group, the co-chairs for Eskişehir province have been arrested. Hundreds are still kept under custody. The largest group is in Urfa, where the 210 detainees are kept in a sports hall as if in an internment camp.

FIRST POLITICAL GENOCIDE, THEN PHYSICAL ATTACK

HDP is targeted again after the bombing that targeted the bus transporting commandos in Kayseri, and this time the party buildings are in focus. On the night of December 17, 5 provincial offices, 14 district offices and the headquarters building in Ankara were attacked.

The Kayseri provincial office was set on fire. Yalova provincial office was surrounded by fascists. 4 administrators and a 7 year old child were removed from the building just in time. The provincial offices in Erzincan and Çanakkale and district offices in Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa, Eyüp, Beykoz, Bağcılar, Kartal, Beylikdüzü districts, Ankara’s Yenimahalle, Kocaeli’s Darıca, Adana’s Çukurova, Bursa’s Yıldırım and İzmir’s Buca and Bayraklı districts were also attacked. The same night, attackers gathered in front of the headquarters building in Ankara, they were dispersed by the police but were not detained.

The attacks continued on the night of December 18. According to media coverage, Şişli, Beşiktaş, Pendik, Ataşehir and Ümraniye district offices in İstanbul, Kumluca in Antalya, Ereğli in Konya, Süleymanpaşa in Tekirdağ were attacked. Sakarya and Denizli provincial offices were also attacked by fascist groups.

WIDEST SPREAD ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 6-7

In the days of September 6 and 7, 2016, government statements following deaths of soldiers made HDP buildings into targets once more. For two full days, there was a total of 305 attacks on provincial and district offices. The most memorable of them was the headquarters building being set on fire. Another image etched deep into memory is the police hanging a Turkish flag over the sign of the provincial office in Aksaray.