Appeals court upholds jailed politician Leyla Güven’s prison sentence

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Stripped of her MP status on the grounds of a final prison sentence and arrested afterwards, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Leyla Güven's prison sentence of 22 years, 3 months has been upheld by the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice (court of appeals).

In the trial heard by the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court, Güven was sentenced to 14 years, 3 months in prison on charge of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and to 4 years in prison twice on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the appeal of Güven's attorneys against this local court ruling has been rejected by the appeals court.

The 2nd Penal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice also reviewed the request for overturning the local court ruling and for ending the arrest of Leyla Güven on the grounds of ongoing judicial proceedings. The Chamber has rejected the request as to the merits.

It has rejected the request for Güven's release on the grounds that she has flight risk, the judicial control measure will be insufficient and the measure of arrest is proportionate to the offenses charged.

An appeal can be lodged against the ruling of continuation of arrest by appealing to the 3rd Penal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice. In the event that it also upholds the ruling, Güven's attorneys can appeal against it by applying to the Court of Cassation.

About Leyla Güven

Living in Germany for a long time, she worked in the women's organization of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) in 1994.

In the local elections in 2004, she was elected as the Adana Küçük Dikili Mayor; in 2009, she was elected as the Viranşehir Mayor.

As part of the operation against the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), Leyla Güven was arrested in December 2009. Following an imprisonment for five years, she was released in 2014. In the KCK main trial, she was sentenced to 6 years, 3 months in prison.

In the Parliamentary elections in June 2015, Leyla Güven was elected as the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) 25th Term Şanlıurfa MP and entered the Parliament. In the Parliamentary elections in 2018, she was elected as the HDP 27th Term Hakkari MP.

While she was in prison as part of the KCK investigation, she went on a hunger strike, demanding that the isolation of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan be lifted.

Her prison sentence of 6 years, 3 months in the KCK main trial was upheld by the Court of Cassation while she was the HDP Hakkari MP. With her finalized prison sentence read out at the General Assembly of the Parliament, she was stripped of her MP status on June 4, 2020. While she was arrested shortly afterwards, she was released on June 9, 2020.

On December 21, 2020, she was sentenced to 22 years, 3 months in prison on charge of "leading an organization", arrested and sent to Elazığ Type E Prison in eastern Turkey. (AS/SD)