The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has open an investigation against Diyarbakýr Mayor Osman Baydemir following his speech at a public meeting titled “Answering the Kurdish problem subject and democratic autonomy”  in Dersim on 31 July.

Diyarbakýr Mayor Osman Baydemir’s statement was as follows; “TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) will exist but there will also exist a parliament in Marmara, besides there will exist a Kurdistan Parliament. Against the ‘National Unity Project’  of Prime Minister Erdoðan, we regard the Democratic Autonomy Project as ‘National Unity Project’ .”

Turkey is often being sentenced at European Court of Human Rights for restricting freedom of expression.

The investigators of Baydemir’s speech are keeping silent against the libel statements of Cemil Çiçek, who had responded to Baydemir’s statements with libel in front of public opinion.

Translator: Berna Ozgencil