The new Turkey
Ayşe Sürücü.
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şanlıurfa deputy

21-Mar-2019 9:14

20 March 2019:

Pro-Kurdish lawmaker Sürücü receives jail sentence for violating protest law

A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Ayşe Sürücü to one year and eight months in jail for violating the country’s protest law, independent news site Diken reported.

Sürücü was originally accused of conducting terrorist propaganda over a speech she delivered in Nov. 2016. However, the presiding public prosecutor said the HDP lawmaker had participated in a protest in March of 2016, which had been banned by the governorship of the eastern province of Urfa, and demanded a prison sentence for ‘’violating the Turkish law on assemblies and demonstration’’ instead, Diken said.

1 March 2019:

Turkey seeks prison sentence for another Kurdish lawmaker

A Turkish prosecutor has sought up to three years prison sentence for pro-Kurdish party deputy over charges of violating laws on meetings and demonstrations, Turkish news website Gazete Karınca reported on Friday.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şanlıurfa deputy Ayşe Sürücü faces a prison sentence between one-and-a-half and three years for attending a ceremony in 2016 in the southeastern town of Halfeti.

Sürücü was not present at court on Friday but was represented by her lawyers, who denied all charges. One of the lawyers resigned from the case citing lack of fair trial, after the court rejected the defence’s demands. The trial was postponed to a future date after Sürücü’s other lawyers asked for additional time to prepare their defence.