Constitutional Court: Gergerlioğlu’s rights violated

* Photo: HDP

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The Constitutional Court has examined the individual application of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) dismissed Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was stripped of his MP status and arrested afterwards.

Giving its ruling, the Constitutional Court has concluded that Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu's "right to be elected and to engage in political activities" and "the right to personal liberty and security" have been violated.

The Court has also ruled that a written notification shall urgently be sent to the Kocaeli Heavy Penal Court, which gave the first prison sentence, and the related proceedings shall be undertaken for his release.

Announcing the ruling on his Twitter account, Salih Gergerlioğlu, the son of jailed politician Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, has briefly said, "The Constitutional Court has given a ruling of 'right violation' for my father. My father is going to be released; he is going to be released."

Following this top court ruling, the related proceedings will start so that he will return to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM)

Gergerlioğlu's trial and expulsion from the parliament

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" on February 21, 2018, because of a social media post from the year 2016. The conviction was upheld by the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation on February 19, 2021.

Speaking shortly after this ruling was handed down, Gergerlioğlu said that the verdict was "political", adding, "Strip searches, abductions, tortures... Some people got disturbed by us talking about all these."

He also made an application to the Constitutional Court. However, the final ruling of the court was read out at the Plenary Session of the Parliament on March 17, 2021, and he was stripped of his MP duty. He refused to leave the parliament in protest of the decision, starting a "justice watch."

During his protest, he was detained at the parliament as part of a new investigation on March 21 and released on the same day.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was detained from his house on April 2, 2021; he was arrested and sent to prison shortly afterwards.

The Constitutional Court rejected an application against the revocation of his parliamentary mandate on March 31. (RT/SD)