Detained HDP Spokesperson Baydemir Released After Testifying

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

HDP's Urfa MP and Spokesperson of the party Osman Baydemir been taken into custody in Diyarbakır province has been released after giving a statement before the Prosecutor's Office.

On May 20, a warrant had been issued to take Baydemir forcibly to give testimony in the trial in which he faced from 1 to 3 years in prison on charge of "insulting a public official with regards to his public service" five years ago when has was the Mayor of Diyarbakır.

According to Felat Bozarslan's report from Doğan News Agency, Baydemir is further standing trial in the lawsuit in which he was being charged with insulting police officers in front of Diyarbakır Governorship's office where he went to together with other MPs to protest the ban on a demonstration planned to be staged on November 3, 2012 to draw attention to the hunger strikes carried out in prisons for Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), one of Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) preceding political parties which had been closed.

CLICK - The Status of HDP MPs to Date

(BK/DG)