Trial of 89 politicians begins in second Kobanî case

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The first hearing of the second case concerning the 2014 Kobanî protests was held today (January 2) at the Ankara 18th Heavy Penal Court.

The 89 defendants, including 19 in prison, are charged with financing the protests that erupted during the ISIS siege on Kobanî, a Kurdish town in northern Syria.

Forty-two people were killed and at least 682 people were wounded after the protests turned violent in early October 2014, according to the Human Rights Association (İHD).

In a case filed in 2021, some 108 Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) members, including former MPs, are charged with organizing an insurrection upon orders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). HDP politicians had called for protests during the siege.

Charged with 29 separate crimes ranging from "attempted murder" to "disseminating terrorist propaganda," the defendants are facing aggravated life imprisonment. The second case is focused on the financial aspect of the protests.

Ahmet Altun, the same prosecutor of the Kobanî trials, conducted the investigation of the second case as well.

During the investigation, 48 people were detained in house raids on April 12, 2022. The detainees are mainly HDP members from Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Adana, Batman and Diyarbakir, who were former deputy mayors, city council members, and members of the Party Assembly.

According to the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), in the 773-page indictment, the 89 suspects are charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and "establishing or leading an armed terrorist organization."

With witness testimonies, both confidential and non-confidential, reports and phone recordings are cited as evidence.

About Kobanî protests

In September 2014, ISIS, which controlled a large territory in Syria at the time, launched an offensive to Kobanî, a Kurdish town in northern Syria, near the country's border with Turkey.

In late September, a group of people went to Suruç, a town neighboring Kobanî in the predominantly Kurdish city of Urfa, and attempted to cross the border. Police prevented them, using tear gas and rubber bullets.

Pictures allegedly showing ISIS militia crossing into Syria were published on the same days.

Also, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements at the time, indicating that they equated the PKK with ISIS. While the wounded coming from Kobanî were kept waiting on the border, the wounded from ISIS were treated at hospitals, according to news reports. Several news reports were reported in the press, saying "Kobanî fell." These news reports were denied every time.

After the HDP made a call to take to the streets against a possible massacre in Kobanî, thousands of people protested in Kurdish-majority provinces as well as Ankara and İstanbul. While left parties also supported these protests, deaths also occurred with the onset of police violence. Street conflicts ensued. 42 people lost their lives from October 6 to 12, 2014.

According to a report by the Human Rights Association (İHD), 46 people died, 682 people were wounded and 323 people were arrested in the protests held between September 7 and 12, 2014. As reported by the AA, 31 people lost their lives, 221 citizens and 139 police officers were wounded.

(AS/WM/VK)