Police attack Justice Watch for Gergerlioğlu, detain several people

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

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The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has started keeping a justice watch in front of the Sincan Prison in the capital city of Ankara in response to the failure to release Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was stripped of his MP status and arrested and for whom the Constitutional Court gave a ruling of rights violation at its session last Thursday (July 1).

While the watch started at 11 am today (July 5), the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) has reported that the police attacked the justice watch, battering and detaining Salih Gergerlioğlu, the son of the jailed politician.

The police alo prevented the reporters from filming the moment of Salih Gergerlioğlu's detention. Seizing their equipment, the police threatened the journalists, including MA reporters, with seizing their phones.

While several people have been battered and taken into custody during the police intervention, the HDP has continued keeping the justice watch despite the attack and made a statement for the press.

HDP İstanbul MP Züleyha Gülüm has underlined that Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu is still deprived of his freedom despite the ruling of the Constitutional Court, noting that they are keeping a justice watch for Gergerlioğlu, who has not been released despite the ruling of the top court. 

The MP has further indicated that Gergerlioğlu has been unjustly and unlawfully arrested over a tweet that he posted. 

While the justice watch in front of the Ankara Sincan Prison Campus will reportedly continue until 5 in the evening today, the advisors of the MPs and journalists have not been allowed into the site of justice watch.

CLICK - Constitutional Court: Gergerlioğlu's rights violated

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.

The Constitutional Court 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. (EMK/SD)