The new Turkey |
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23-Jan-2019 20:11 |
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Turkey removes two more pro-Kurdish parliamentarians
Selma Irmak and Osman Baydemir were relieved of their duties on Thursday after being convicted of terror organisation membership and insulting the police respectively. The HDP, the third biggest party after 2015, elections now only has 48 seats in parliament. Its members left the chamber in protest. Figen Yüksekdağ, Nursel Aydoğan, Besime Konca, Ferhat Encü, İbrahim Ayhan and Ahmet Yıldırım lost their seats due to criminal convictions, and Faysal Sarıyıldız, Tuğba Hezer Öztürk and Leyla Zana due to absenteeism while in police detention. 19 April 2018 - Turkey strips 2 more pro-Kurdish deputies of parliamentary status,
bringing total to 11
 19 April 2018 The decision was made due to the approval by an appeals court of sentences the two depuies had previously received. A regional appeals court in Gaziantep in February approved a 10-year jail sentence given to Irmak on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “disseminating the propaganda of a terror organization.” The same court also approved in March a 17-month jail sentence handed down to Baydemir on charges of insulting a police officer. So far, a total of 11 pro-Kurdish deputies were strip of parliamentary status: Figen Yüksekdağ, Nursel Aydoğan, Faysal Sarıyıldız, Tuğba Hezer Öztürk, Besime Konca, Leyla Zana, Fethat Encü, İbrahim Ayhan, Ahmet Yıldırım, Osman Baydemir, Selma Irmak. The number of HDP deputies in Parliament has dropped to 48 from the 59 the party won in the Nov. 1, 2015 general election. Source
8 pro-Kurdish deputies under investigation over ‘terror propagandaby TurkeyPurge | Apr 18, 2018 | According to the report, HDP deputies Osman Baydemir, Alican Önlü, Feleknas Uca, Sibel Yiğitalp, Nadir Yıldırım, Dilek Öcalan, Mizgin Irgat and Garo Paylan also were accused of “humiliating the Turkish nation, the Turkish state, government, military and police,” “violating the Political Parties Law” and “Insulting the president [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan].” The prosecutor sent motions to the Justice Ministry to forward to the presidency of the Parliament for removal of the deputies’ immunity. The prosecutor’s office also asked the Justice Ministry for permission to initiate an investigation into HDP deputies Baydemir and Botan for statements they made about a Turkish military operation and “humiliating the Turkish nation, military and police.” The government’s crackdown on the Kurdish political movement began in late 2016 with the arrest of high-profile politicians, including the party’s then co-chairs, Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, which led to the detention of at least 5,000 members of the HDP, including 80 mayors. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast. |
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1 March 2018 - HDP deputy sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges
1 March 2018 The Gaziantep Provincial Court upheld a decision issued by a lower court that sentenced Irmak to 10 years in prison for “membership in a terrorist organization” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda.” Irmak was arrested on Nov. 4, 2016 and delivered her defense to the court via a closed circuit camera system. Irmak’s lawyers appealed the decision to the Gaziantep Provincial Court. But the court upheld the verdict of the lower court that sentenced Irmak to 10 years in prison. Turkey’s Interior Ministry on Monday announced that 845 people have been detained on terror charges due to their protests or posts on social media critical of a Turkish military incursion in the northern Syrian town of Afrin. Turkish government’s crackdown on the Kurdish political movement began in late 2016 with the arrest of high-profile politicians, including the party’s then co-chairs, Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, which led to the detention of at least 5,000 members of the HDP, including 80 mayors. Trustees have been appointed to dozens of municipalities in the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast. (Stockholm Center for Freedom [SCF] with Turkish Minute) Source |
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