The appeal of Sezai Temelli and Pervin Buldan, the co-chairs of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to visit HDP’s jailed presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş in prison was rejected by Turkish authorities on Friday.
According to a report by pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency (ANF), since Buldan, Temelli and HDP’s parliamentary candidates were not allowed to read a press statement in front of the prison, the group read their statement 5 km away from the prison.
“Today, we came to Edirne to meet with our Presidential Candidate Selahattin Demirtaş. We submitted a request to the Ministry of Justice one week ago, but we never received a response and we were prevented from holding a press statement in front of the prion,” said Buldan and added that “It is a shame that we are holding a statement here in Edirne, where we came to see our Presidential Candidate. This is a shame.”
Buldan continued to say that “Demirtaş is the candidate for millions of people. He is the hope of millions of people. Demirtaş is the Presidential Candidate for a party that 6 million people voted for. They can keep Demirtaş hostage behind closed doors, but they can’t erase him from the hearts of millions. Their fear is due to the courage Demirtaş has. Their fear is against the way Demirtaş will govern this country. They are holding Demirtaş hostage because they fear.”
Stating that in the last 18 months, he wasn’t given permission to see Demirtaş even once, Sezai Temelli stated that “Aside from not being able to see him, there is no legal basis for Demirtaş being held hostage for 568 days… It is time to end this imprisonment. The rights violations have extended to the violation of the right to participate in elections.”
Temelli added that “It is unjust for not just Demirtaş, but for the millions who voted for Demirtaş. This is a matter that concerns millions of people. And, we are talking about 6 million voters here, Demirtaş has just as much a chance as any other candidate. He may be the next president of the Republic of Turkey. The judges should reconsider their decision.”
Meanwhile, a Turkish court sentenced Sebahat Tuncel, former deputy of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and co-chair of Democratic Regions Party (DBP), to 5 months in prison on Friday with charge of violating law on demonstrations.
Tuncel, who has been jailed in Kandira F Type Closed Prison, was heard at the 11th Court of First Instance of Büyükçekmece in İstanbul through a video conference system (SEGBİS). Tuncel has been accused of “violation of Law No. 2911 on Demonstrations” because of her participation in a march in support of prisoners on hunger strike in 2012.
In her short defense, Tuncel said that “It was a democratic march promoted to give voice to the prisoners.” The judge sentenced Tuncel to six months imprisonment for “violation of Law No. 2911 on Demonstrations”. The court reduced the penalty to 5 months.
The post Turkish gov’t doesn’t permit pro-Kurdish HDP co-chairs to visit Demirtaş in prison appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-govt-doesnt-permit-pro-kurdish-hdp-co-chairs-to-visit-demirtas-in-prison/
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder