Court releases 32,000-page justified verdict in sweeping case against pro-Kurdish politicians

A court has issued a 32,000-page justified verdict in the high-profile Kobanî case, formally launching the appeals process for dozens of pro-Kurdish politicians convicted in connection with deadly protests in 2014.

The Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court had reached its verdict in May 2024. With the justified ruling now complete, defendants’ lawyers can appeal to a higher court seeking to overturn the convictions and request their clients’ release.

The case centers on mass protests held in Oct 2014, primarily in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern provinces. Demonstrators, mostly supporters of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), took to the streets in response to the Islamic State (ISIS) assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, located near Turkey’s border. The protests turned violent, involving clashes between demonstrators, police, and Islamist counter-protesters, resulting in dozens of deaths.

Seven years after the events, prosecutors filed charges against 108 HDP members, including several senior figures. The indictment accused them of orchestrating the protests on the orders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The charges included “undermining the unity and integrity of the state” and “membership in a terrorist organization.” 

The trial drew significant international attention due to its scope and the profile of the defendants.

Verdict reached in Kobanî trial: Selahattin Demirtaş receives 42-year prison sentence

16 May 2024

Former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ received prison sentences of 42 years and 32 years and 9 months, respectively. Other sentences include:

• Gültan Kışanak, Sebahat Tuncel, Emine Ayna: 12 years

• Ahmet Türk: 10 years

• Ali Ürküt: 13 years and 4 months

• Alp Altınörs: 18 years

• Ayla Akat Ata and Aynur Aşan: 9 years and 9 months

• Mesut Bağcık, Nezir Çakar, Ayşe Yağcı, Meryem Adıbelli: 9 years

• Bülent Parmaksız: 23 years

• Günay Kubilay and İsmail Şengül: 20 years and 6 months

• Nazmi Gür, Pervin Oduncu, Zeki Çelik, Zeynep Karaman: 22 years and 6 months

• Cihan Erdal and Dilek Yağlı: 16 years

(VK)

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