* Photo: HDP - File
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The 9th Penal Chamber of the Diyarbakır Regional Court of Justice has upheld the prison sentence of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Antalya MP Kemal Bülbül, who was given 6 years, 3 months in prison on charge of "membership of a [terrorist / illegal] organization".
The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court sentenced him to prison on November 26, 2020 on the grounds that he attended the meetings of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and made speeches there.
As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), in the justification of the ruling, it was argued that the DTK was acting in line with the instructions of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). The ruling indicated that Bülbül was convicted as he did various activities as a member of its permanent assembly and a member of the Faith and Minorities Commission.
As the lawyers of Bülbül appealed against the ruling, the file was sent to the 9th Penal Chamber of the Regional Court of Justice.
Examining the file as to the merits, the 9th Penal Chamber did not find any unlawfulness as to the merits or procedure in the local court ruling, concluded that there was no missing point about the evidence or the proceedings and found that the assessment was sound in terms of proof.
Legal remedies are reportedly available.
About Kemal Bülbül
27th term Antalya MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). He graduated from the Faculty of Education of Trakya University. He worked as a teacher in Adıyaman, Ankara and Van. He was among the founders of the Eğit-Sen, Eğitim-Sen and KESK unions and confederations.
He served as the Chair of Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Center and Secretary General of Alevi Bektashi Federation. He also served as the Ankara Provincial Chair of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP).
When and why was the DTK founded?
The Democratic Society Congress (DTK) was founded in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır on October 30, 2007. Its first co-chairs were Yüksel Genç and Hatip Dicle.
With 850 delegates, a permanent assembly of 101 people and a steering committee of 21 people, the DTK is also composed of a co-chairpersons' board and 14 commissions in different fields such as diplomacy, politics, ecology, religion, language, women and youth.
When it was established, hundreds of civil society organizations were also represented within the body of the DTK.
Several congresses and symposiums on a range of issues from language to health, from education to culture were held with the participation of several renowned writers, journalists and politicians, including MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
On January 19, 2012, the DTK was sent an invitation with the signature of the-then Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek to contribute to the process of writing a new Constitution. Afterwards, it has turned out that the DTK was being wiretapped/bugged by the police.
The DTK also took active part in the resolution process for the Kurdish question. The then Co-Chair of the DTK Hatip Dicle served as part of the delegation who met imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Prison in western Turkey.
When Aysel Tuğluk and Ahmet Türk were its co-chairs, the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) declared "democratic autonomy" for the Kurdish people on July 11, 2011. When Selma Irmak and Hatip Dicle were the co-chairs, the DTK issued the "Self-Government Declaration" at its Extraordinary Congress on December 27, 2015. The prison sentences given to Tuğluk and Irmak for "leading an organization" over these declarations were upheld by the Court of Cassation.
Several Kurdish politicians, apart from the DTK co-chairs, faced charges and were penalized for being members or leaders of the DTK.
The indictments against arrested former Diyarbakır Metropolitan Co-Mayors Gültan Kışanak and Selçuk Mızraklı also referred to the DTK. The congresses and workshops they attended were cited as criminal evidence. Jailed former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş is also charged with being a leader of the DTK in the investigation conducted by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and in the lawsuit filed against him. (RT/SD)
