A local court in Ankara has imposed a travel ban on Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk. Until the investigation against him is concluded, the 78-year-old politician is not allowed to leave the country. Türk classifies the measure and the entire procedure as politically motivated.

Ahmet Türk had been summoned by the public prosecutor's office on Monday morning as part of the "Kobanê investigation". The former co-mayor of Mardin, who was deposed by the Turkish Ministry of the Interior in August 2019, accompanied by HDP deputy Pero Dündar and his legal counsel, then went to the Mardin Courthouse and participated in a public prosecutor's hearing in Ankara via video conferencing system.

Türk was asked about posts by the HDP headquarters in the social media as well as announcements by the HDP Executive Board between 6 and 8 October 2014, his statements at a press conference a few weeks earlier, and a delegation trip to Kobanê. The so-called "Kobanê investigation" deals with the protests in Turkey in autumn 2014 during the IS attack on the city in northern Syria.

As part of this investigation, seventeen politicians, all of them leading representatives of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who were members of the Executive Council six years ago, were arrested in early October. They are accused of attempting to destroy the unity and integrity of the state, murder and assault in several cases, looting, incitement to violence and deprivation of liberty.

Delegation trip with knowledge from Turkish authorities

During the interrogation, Türk rejected the accusations against him and reminded the court that he was also the mayor of Mardin in 2014, but not a member of the HDP Executive Council. Against this background, he said he had not been involved in the party's appeals.

"Certainly I made statements at the time, after all, a human drama was taking place in Kobanê. In general, these were appeals for support for the approximately 15,000 refugees from Kobanê who sought shelter in Mardin," Türk said.

Türk said that his words were directed at the solidarity of the people, and together with the Governor of Mardin he organized actions to care for those in need. The noted that the delegation trip to Kobanê was carried out with the permission of the governor of Urfa and the district governor’s office in Suruç after the fighting was ablaze.

Questions on stays in Southern Kurdistan

Ahmet Türk was also asked about his stays in Southern Kurdistan. Apparently the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is trying to interpret the politician's trips to the autonomous region as contacts with the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union). Türk stated as to the reason for his last trip to Southern Kurdistan that he had visited the weakened Jalal Talabani. The Kurdish politician and former president of Iraq, who died in 2017, had suffered a stroke in 2012, but formally held office until 2014.