HDP Announces the 'Judiciary Toll'
Click to read the article in Turkish
People's Democratic Party (HDP) Law and Human Rights Commission has released its 2018 report.
In the 30-page report, the judicial issues regarding the HDP and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) have been reviewed under 10 titles:
Political operations towards the HDP, the toll of the State of Emergency, Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), violations of rights in prisons, freedom of expression, women's rights, child abuse and child workers, occupational homicides, toll of the conflict ongoing in the Kurdish provinces and ecology.
The report determines that, especially during the State of Emergency period, which began in 2016, basic human rights were violated.
According to the report, at least two thousand HDP members or supporters were detained, at least 500 of them were arrested.
15 former MPs under arrest
The report states that 15 former MPs of HDP are currently behind bars:
MPs from 26th term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM): Figen Yüksekdağ, Selahattin Demirtaş, İdris Baluken, Çağlar Demirel, Selma Irmak, Gülser Yıldırım, Burcu Çelik Özkan, Ferhat Encü, Abdullah Zeydan, Sırrı Süreyya Önder
25th term: Edibe Şahin, Şafak Özhanlı
24th term: DBP Co-Chair Sebahat Tuncel, Halil Aksoy
23th term: Aysel Tuğluk
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) former MP Eren Erdem as well as HDP MP Leyla Güven are currently in prison. Güven has been on a hunger strike for 34 days.
Convicted politicians
Former Co-Chair of the HDP, Figen Yüksekdağ was relieved of her MP duties after the Adana 7th Heavy Penal Court upheld the 10-month prison sentence given to her for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."
Selahattin Demirtaş, who co-run the party with Yüksekdağ, has also been sentenced to prison for 4 years and 8 months.
Other convicted politicians have been listed as follows:
İdris Baluken: 16 years and 8 months (Upheld)
Çağlar Demirel: 7 years and 6 months (Case at the Supreme Court)
Abdullah Zeydan: 8 years and 1 month (Upheld)
Selma Irmak: 10 years (Two and a half years prison sentence for propagandizing for terror upheld)
Burcu Çelik Özkan: 7 years and 3 months (Case at the Supreme Court)
Aysel Tuğluk: 10 years (Case at the Supreme Court)
Ferhat Encü: 4 years and 7 months (Upheld)
Gülser Yıldırım: The court of appeal ruled for retrial
Elected officials who are sentenced but not arrested
Mahfuz Güleryüz, Gülay Gün Bilici, Tuna Aydın, Hacı Mehmet Bozdağ, Zeki Koç, Aysel Tuğluk, Şafak Özanlı.
94 municipalities run by trustees
In February 2018, the Interior Ministry appointed trustees to 94 municipalities which were run by the DBP. Also 93 co-mayors were arrested. Currently, there are 50 co-mayors behind bars, 29 of them are arrested. (AS/VK)