New summaries of proceedings have been submitted to the Turkish Ministry of Justice to revoke the immunity of nine HDP deputies. Allegedly, there is evidence against them for "inciting violence" during the Kobanê protests in fall 2014.
Summaries of proceedings demanding to lift the immunity of nine deputies of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) have been submitted to the Turkish Ministry of Justice. The legal action is directed against co-chair Pervin Buldan as well as Fatma Kurtulan, Garo Paylan, Hüda Kaya, Meral Danış Beştaş, Saruhan Oluç, Serpil Kemalbay, Sezai Temelli and Pero Dündar.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office justified the action by arguing that there were new findings against the deputies in question that proved they had incited violence during the Kobanê protests in October 2014. If the investigation turns out positive, the ministry will forward the applications to the Parliament Speaker’s Office which is responsible to submit them to the National Assembly.
A total of 108 people have been charged in connection with the protests against Turkish support for the jihadist militia ISIS in its aggression and subsequent siege of the Kobanê city in northern Syria, a large number of whom are politicians from the HDP and actors from Kurdish civil society. In all cases, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is demanding life imprisonment for "destroying the unity of the state and the entirety of the country”. The defendants are also accused of 37 counts of murder and dozens of attempted murders. In addition to more than 2,500 individuals, a number of ministries, agencies, and parties are also joining as joint plaintiffs, including the Ministries of Interior, Justice, and Defense, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family, the Central Authority of the Turkish Police, the Turkish Intelligence Service (MIT), the coalition parties AKP and MHP, the CHP, and the Hezbullah-affiliated party Hüda Par. Also indicted are several members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) executive committee in southern Kurdistan, including Murat Karayılan, Duran Kalkan, and Cemil Bayık.
Among the evidence used in the 3530-page indictment are reports on the political activities of the defendants, as well as their statements and interviews published by ANF. A total of 413 pages have been devoted to our agency’s reporting. Another 62 pages deal with the "structures of PKK/KCK," on whose instructions former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş is alleged to have made several statements, including after a visit to Kobanê on September 30, 2014.
