The Kobanê Case, in which 108 politicians, 17 of whom in prison, including former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, and members of the Central Executive Committee, are on trial, will be held at the Sincan Prison Campus on 12, 13 and 14 April. The HDP called for participation in the hearings and said that the right of defense was violated. The prosecution is expected to issue an opinion in the session that will start tomorrow, Wednesday, after the hearings were postponed due to the earthquake.

One day given for the right to defense

HDP Law and Human Rights Commission made a written statement about the hearings and said that the defense rights of the politicians accused were violated without being fully provided with the 3,530-page indictment and thousands of folders, including the combined files, and the opportunity to examine the file under prison conditions. The statement added that during the trial, politicians were given the right to defend themselves for one day.

The statement also noted that politicians and lawyers could not follow the file properly due to the hearing schedule: "A lawsuit was filed against former head of the court, B.Ç. on the allegation that he was a member of a gang within the judiciary. It has been understood that this member continues to carry out the main proceedings, despite the fact that there is an investigation against him. The file was handed over to the Public Prosecutor to hastily prepare an opinion on the merits, before the interrogation statements of the prosecuted persons were completed, and all evidence was collected."

Call to attend the hearing

The HDP stressed the importance of the attitude and stance of "legal organizations against the current situation in which the judiciary has lost its independence and has become a complement to political interventions", adding that this attitude "will go down in history as meaningful steps in the establishment of a democratic legal order in these lands. It is our call to all bar associations, professional organizations, associations and colleagues to support us, the lawyers of the case, in our determination to fight against the increasing threats and attacks against those on trial as well as lawyers."