Kurdish activist acquitted for chanting 'Bijî Serok Apo'
The Kurdish activist who was sued for shouting the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ and carrying the YPG flag in a demonstration organized for Mam Zeki last year was acquitted by ta court in Berlin.
A woman activist was protesting against the attacks of the Turkish state in Shengal, chanting ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ (Long Live President Apo) and carrying a YPG flag at a demonstration in Berlin on 18 August 2018.
The prosecutor, who reported that the unidentified Kurdish woman activist was shouting slogans in favour Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, appealed to a local court in Berlin.
The indictment prepared by the Prosecutor's Office stated that the activist was making propaganda for the PKK, which is banned in Germany.
However, the court decided that the activist shouted the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ within the framework of the ‘freedom of opinion’ principles and that therefore this was not a crime. The court also stated that there was no concrete evidence to suggest that the shouting of the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ was linked to the PKK.
Many demonstrations were organised all over Europe to protest the Turkish bombing of Shengal on 15 August 2018 which resulted in the murder of KCK Executive Council Member and Yazidi Community Coordination Member Zeki Şengali. However, Berlin police attacked the demonstration when hearing the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ and took two people into custody.
