A court has issued a 32,000-page justified verdict in the high-profile Kobanî case, formally launching the appeals process for dozens of pro-Kurdish politicians convicted in connection with deadly protests in 2014.
The Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court had reached its verdict in May 2024. With the justified ruling now complete, defendants’ lawyers can appeal to a higher court seeking to overturn the convictions and request their clients’ release.
The case centers on mass protests held in Oct 2014, primarily in the country's predominantly Kurdish southeastern provinces. Demonstrators, mostly supporters of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), took to the streets in response to the Islamic State (ISIS) assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, located near Turkey’s border. The protests turned violent, involving clashes between demonstrators, police, and Islamist counter-protesters, resulting in dozens of deaths.
Seven years after the events, prosecutors filed charges against 108 HDP members, including several senior figures. The indictment accused them of orchestrating the protests on the orders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The charges included “undermining the unity and integrity of the state” and “membership in a terrorist organization.”
The trial drew significant international attention due to its scope and the profile of the defendants.
Verdict reached in Kobanî trial: Selahattin Demirtaş receives 42-year prison sentence
Former HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ received prison sentences of 42 years and 32 years and 9 months, respectively. Other sentences include:
Gültan Kışanak, Sebahat Tuncel, Emine Ayna: 12 years
Ahmet Türk: 10 years
Ali Ürküt: 13 years and 4 months
Alp Altınörs: 18 years
Ayla Akat Ata and Aynur Aşan: 9 years and 9 months
Mesut Bağcık, Nezir Çakar, Ayşe Yağcı, Meryem Adıbelli: 9 years
Bülent Parmaksız: 23 years
Günay Kubilay and İsmail Şengül: 20 years and 6 months
Nazmi Gür, Pervin Oduncu, Zeki Çelik, Zeynep Karaman: 22 years and 6 months
Cihan Erdal and Dilek Yağlı: 16 years
(VK)
