HDP detentions: Hasankeyf Coordination calls for release of Prof. Beyza Üstün

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The Hasankeyf Coordination, a group striving for the protection of the ancient city of Hasankeyf in southeastern Turkey, has demanded the release of Prof. Beyza Üstün, an academic who was detained on Friday (September 25) as part of an investigation against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

"Beyza Üstün, who is involved in the ecological struggle on almost every inch of the land in the country, has stood by our side in defending and sustaining Hasankeyf since the very beginning; she took her place on the frontlines of the struggle," it said in a written statement.

Eighty-two HDP members were detained over the 2014 protests in the Kurdish-majority southeastern regions, where 46 people were killed. Opposition parties and rights groups have criticized the government for the mass detention, which they say was politically motivated.

"Beyza Üstün, as an ecologist, has defended the rights of the animals and nature, and has given voice to the brooks, lands, and air of this country," said the statement.

"Beyza Üstün who is involved in the ecological struggle on almost every inch of the land in the country has stood by our side in defending and sustaining Hasankeyf since the very beginning; she took her place on the frontlines of the struggle. Advocates of nature, life, peace and science shall not be put on trial. The ecological struggle cannot be silenced. Release Beyza Üstün and all the other detainees!" it added.

What happened?

As part of an investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into the Kobani incidents on October 6-8, 2014, detention warrants were issued against 82 members of the HDP, including 24 former Central Executive Committee members, on September 26.

Following these orders for detention, Ayhan Bilgen, Alp Altınörs, Nazmi Gür, Altan Tan, Ayla Akat Aka, Emine Ayna, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Bircan Yorulmaz, Gülfer Akkaya, Berfin Özgü Köse, Dilek Yağlı, Can Memiş, Günay Kubilay, Bülent Barmaksız, Zeki Çelik, Pervin Oduncu, İsmail Şengün, Ali Ürküt, Cihan Erdal, Emine Beyza Üstün were taken into custody.

On the day of the operation, the detainees were taken from other provinces to the Ankara Security Directorate in the capital city. While they were restricted from meeting their attorneys for 24 hours, the HDP politicians started to meet their attorneys as of September 27.

While the names of Arife Köse, Yurdusev Özsekmenler, Bayram Yılmaz, Zeynep Karaman were also in the 24-person detention list, they could not be detained as they could not be found in their residences.

The Kobani protests

Before the protests held to support Kobani in northern Syria in 2014, those who were waiting in the district of Suruç, Urfa in southeastern Turkey and wanted to cross the border were intervened with pepper gas and rubber bullets. In the meantime, some pictures allegedly showing ISIS militia crossing the border of Turkey were published.

President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements indicating that they equated PKK with ISIS. While the wounded coming from Kobani were kept waiting on the border, the wounded from ISIS were treated at hospitals. Several news reports were reported in the press, saying "Kobani fell." These news reports were denied every time.
After the HDP made a call to take to the streets against a possible massacre in Kobani, 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 October 6 and 8, 2014. As reported by the AA, 31 people lost their lives, 221 citizens and 139 police officers were wounded.

Conducted by Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman, the investigation started a year ago. First, the depositions of former jailed HDP Co-Chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş were interrogated as part of this investigation. Released in the trial where he had been arrested pending trial, Demirtaş faced another ruling of arrest as part of this "Kobani investigation" on the same day.

(RT/VK)