AHMET FARUK ÜNSAL
‘Investigation into Afrin Letter Launched Based on News, Not Content of Letter’
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Former MP of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and human rights defender Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, who is among the 170 people, against whom an investigation has been launched for having sent a letter to MPs against the Afrin Operation, has spoken to bianet.
Upon being summoned to depose, Ahmet Faruk Ünsal and his wife Fatma Bostan Ünsal gave their depositions as part of the investigation.
CLICK - Investigation Launched Against Signatories of Afrin Letter
Speaking to bianet, Ünsal has indicated that the Prosecutor's Office launched the investigation based on the antagonizing and targeting news language used by the pro-government A Haber news channel 11 months ago, rather than the content of the letter itself.
Stating that the Prosecutor's Office prepared the documents of the investigation "as if it was an editor of the A Haber news channel", Ünsal has said, "If an investigation was to be launched, it should have been done by looking at the content of the letter."
"We signed the letter because we are for peace, life"
In giving his deposition, Ünsal was asked questions as to "whether he signed the letter upon instruction and who sent and organized the letter."
In response to the questions, Ünsal has answered,
"We stated that we, as human rights defenders, signed the letter because we thought that the war would lead to civilian deaths and destructions and spread the hatred and hostility among peoples. We said that we signed it because we are on the side of life and peace."
Ahmet Faruk Ünsal has also emphasized that "the investigation launched against them has emerged as one of the most interesting and tragic examples of the ways in which media, political power and judicial bureaucracy have been intertwined in Turkey."
4 people have deposed so far
As part of the investigation launched against the 170 signatories of the Afrin letter, Salman Kaya, Yakın Ertürk, Fatma Bostan Ünsal and Ahmet Faruk Ünsal have given their depositions so far.
The signatories have been facing the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).
What did the letter say?The letter sent to MPs from different political parties –AKP (315), CHP (135), HDP (59) and MHP (35)– reads: "We, the undersigned citizens, are calling out to you on behalf of millions for the authority and responsibility you hold in your hands. "We want peace and calm in our country and our region, not war. We believe the best way to protect our borders and not face a threat to our survival is reciprocal friendship and reinforcement of neighbor relations. We know from experience that our safety will be ensured not through billions spent on arms or young people's lives or a war that will leave ten thousands of families without a home, but through reciprocal negotiations and collaborations, and that this is possible. "We know that an armed intervention in Afrin, which is Syria's territory and does not pose a threat to Turkey, will not bring our country peace and safety, but bigger problems, devastation and anguish, and that it will deeply hurt our Kurdish citizens. "In the current state of affairs where even the military presence of foreign states that have turned the Middle East into an inferno of proxy wars is a violation of international law, an intention of and steps towards joining their ranks will only lead our country to disappointment and cause social, political, economic, and humanitarian losses that will remain irreparable for decades. "With our identities and responsibilities as citizens, and with our people and history our witness, we warn you, wielders of authority, and urge you to hear us and act in common sense, to stop the war immediately, and to solve the problem through dialogue." |
170 signatories
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Abdullah Demirbaş, Fatma Bostan Ünsal, Nimet Tanrıkulu, Abdülbaki Erdoğmuş, Ferhat Tunç, Nimet Yardımcı, Ahmet Aykaç, Fethiye Çetin, Nur Bekata Mardin, Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, Fidan Eroğlu, Nurcan Baysal, Ahmet İnsel, Fikret Ünlü, Nurhan Keeler, Ahmet Özdemir Aktan, Füsun Ertuğ, Nurten Ertuğrul, Ahmet Tonak, Genco Erkal, Olga Hünler, Akın Birdal, Gençay Gürsoy, Onur Hamzaoğlu, Ali Bilge, Gonca Gül Gedikoğlu, Orhan Alkaya, Ali Haydar Konca, Gönül Saray, Orhan Silier, Ali Uçansu, Gülriz Sururi, Oya Baydar, Arzu Başaran, Gülseren Onanç, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Aslıhan Karabacak Calviello, Gülten Kaya, Ömer Laçiner, Aydın Arı, Gürhan Ertür, Ömer Madra, Aydın Selcen, Hacer Ansal, Özgün E. Bulut, Aynur Özuğurlu, Halil Ergün, Özgür Müftüoğlu, Ayşe Erzan, Hasan Cemal, Pınar Kılıçer, Ayşe Hür, Hasip Kaplan, Rakel Dink, Ayşe Nur Doksat, Hıdır Işık, Rıfat Yüzbaşıoğlu, Ayşegül Devecioğlu, Hüda Kaya, Salman Kaya, Ayten Yıldırım, Hürriyet Karadeniz, Savaş Demirci, Bahattin Yücel, Hüsamettin Cindoruk, Sefa Feza Arslan, Baki Tezcan, Hüseyin Ayrılmaz, Sema Kaygusuz, Baskın Oran, Hüsnü Okçuoğlu, Semih Bilgen, Belgin Koç, İhsan Eliaçık, Semih Gümüş, Beyza Üstün, Kıvanç Ersoy, Semra Somersan, Binnaz Toprak, Kumru Toktamış, Serhat Baysan, Burhan Sönmez, Kuvvet Lordoğlu, Servet Demir, Bülent Utku, Lale Mansur, Simten Coşar, Celal Korkut Yıldırım, Lati Akyüz, Suavi, Celalettin Can, Levent Tüzel, Suna Uluçınar Aygün, Cem Mansur, Mebuse Tekay, Süleyman Çelebi, Cem Özatalay, Mehmet Rasgelener, Şahika Yüksel, Cengiz Arın, Mehmet Rauf Sandalcı, Şanar Yurdatapan, Ceren Şengül, Melehat Kutun, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Cihangir İslam, Melek Taylan, Tahsin Yeşildere, Defne Asal, Meral Camcı, Taner Akçam, Deniz Türkali, Meryem Koray, Tarhan Erdem, Deniz Yonucu, Mete Çetik, Tarık Ziya Ekinci, Dilek Gökçin, Mine Gencel Bek, Tatyos Bebek, Ece Temelkuran, Muammer Keskin, Tebesssüm Yılmaz, Ekrem Baran, Muhammed Salar, Tilbe Saran, Elif Sandal Önal, Murat Belge, Tuna Altınel, Emine Uşaklıgil, Murat Çeyişakar, Tümay İmre, Engin Sustam, Murat Morova, Ufuk Uras, Erdal Kalkan, Mustafa Altıntop, Ümit Kıvanç, Erdoğan Aydın, Mustafa Paçal, Ümit Özgümüş, Erol Katırcıoğlu, Muzaffer Kaya, Viki Çiprut, Ersin Salman, Nadire Mater, Yakın Ertürk, Ertuğrul Günay, Nalan Erbil, Yasemin Bektaş, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Nazan Aksoy, Zehra Kabasakal Arat, Ertuğrul Yalçınbayır, Nazar Büyüm, Zelal Ekinci, Esra Arsan, Necmiye Alpay, Zeynep Oral, Esra Mungan, Nesrin Nas, Zeynep Tanbay, Eşref Erdem, Nesteren Davutoğlu, Zişan Kürüm, Fadıl Öztürk, Neşe Erdilek, Ziya Halis, Fadime Gök, Neşe Yaşin, Zülfü Livaneli, Fahrettin Dağlı, Nil Mutluer. |
(HA/SD)