Court of Cassation Requests Immediate Release of Former HDP MP Çelik-Özkan

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Court of Cassation has overturned a prison sentence for Burcu Çelik Özkan, a former MP from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

The court said that Çelik-Özkan shall be released immediately. Attorney Reyhan Yalçındağ stated that they expect the release of the politician who has been in prison since April 2017.

Çelik-Özkan was arrested on April 19, 2017, and was sent to Kandıra No. 1 Type-F High-Security Prison in Kocaeli province.

Muş 1st Heavy Penal Court acquitted her of the charges of "membership of an illegal organization", "propagandizing for a terrorist organization", and "provoking people into enmity and hatred" on October 6, 2017.

The court sentenced her to six years in prison for "committing an offense on behalf of an illegal organization despite not being a member of the organization." Her attorneys appealed the decision.

A lawyer herself, Çelik-Özkan worked for the Libertarian Lawyers Platform and was the HDP Beylikdüzü District Chair in İstanbul.

She became a member of the human rights committee in the parliament. (EMK/VK)