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Main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Eren Erdem was turned down at airport and could not fly to Germany today (May 21) after an international travel ban was imposed on him by the İstanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court. While the passport of Erdem was confiscated, his wife and children went to Germany.
The state-run Anadolu Agency has reported that the 35th Heavy Penal Court approved the indictment, which charges Eren Erdem with aiding the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and demands a 22-year prison sentence for him today.
The court board ruled that the first hearing of Erdem be held on September 19, 2018 and imposed an international travel ban on him as part of the judicial control measures.
"The party headquarters knew it"
The name of Eren Erdem, who is currently the İstanbul MP of the CHP, has not been included in the CHP's list of parliamentary candidates, which leaked to the media today.
Speaking about the incident at the airport, Erdem has said, "This decision has been taken after my name has not been included in the list. The party headquarters knew that it would happen."
"It was a planned journey"
Posting a tweet about the international travel ban imposed on him and the approval of his indictment on his official Twitter account, Erdem has stated that his flight to Germany was a planned journey and he has been tried in the same case for the last three years.
What is in his indictment?
The investigation against CHP MP Erdem was launched after three notices were submitted against him. The notices were then combined in a single file.
As reported by Anadolu Agency, Eren Erdem is the only defendant in the indictment. Erdem has been charged with "knowingly and willfully aiding an armed terrorist organization as a non-member", "uncovering an anonymous witness" and "violating the confidentiality of the investigation" and he faces a prison sentence of 9.5 years to 22 years. (HK/SD)
