Directorate of Religious Affairs wants to intervene in the Kobani case

Photo: MA/ Sincan Prison Campus, October 6-8 hearing

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The Directorate of Religious Affairs has applied to intervene in the Kobani case in which 108 politicians are standing trial, 18 of them arrested, among whom is Selahattin Demirtaş, the ex-Chairperson of the People's Democratic Party (HDP). 

In the petition sent to the court, the directorate requested that Demirtaş and his friends be sentenced. 

Again in the petition of the directorate which DW Turkish uncovered, "Selahattin Demirtaş and others" was written as the "opposite party."

The petition also states that "the Directorate of Religious Affairs works so as to inform the society about religion with correct and actual information based on the primary resources of the İslam religion, to manage the services related to belief and morals, and to administrate the places of worship in order to keep alive the religious, moral and sentimental values of the society."

The acts and behaviors of the people standing trial led to irreparable results in this context, argues the directorate in its petition.

"It is beyond dispute that if the confidence and trust are lost in the religious services that address to the conscience, this field which does not allow for any gaps will be filled in with various deviant currents and groups," it says. 

"Everybody acknowledges that this is a political case"

Lawyer Nuray Özdoğan who has spoken to the Mezopotamya Agency also confirmed the petition by the Directorate of Religious Affairs. The justification the institution states is that "the politicians standing trial has shaken the foundations of the religious values" she informed. 

"We are shocked. The Directorate has committed a Constitutional crime with this petition. They are taking religious values as a reference, discussing the issue over religious values. I, therefore, want to make a criminal complaint about this crime by the directorate. I also request the petition to intervene should be deleted from the case file at once." Özdoğan said. 

The lawyer further stated that there are also two municipalities that want to intervene. The Esenyurt Municipality and the Pertek Municipality. The former has stated, in a petition submitted to the court, that "they want to help the court," informed Özdoğan. 

"Everybody acknowledges that this is a political case. This is the result of this perception. It is a shame," she said.  

YSP slams the Directorate

The Green and Left Party Group Deputy Chairperson Meral Danış Beştaş shared a tweet about the petition of the Directorate of Religious Affairs yesterday (August 2).

Beştaş accused the directorate of "standing by those who are guilty." 

"We will continue to tell about this hypocrisy. No, confidence is lost because of your lies," she wrote. 

Asserting that what the Directorate of Religious Affairs is doing is hatred towards Kurds, she argued that everybody should see this. He added that they are proud of the politicians who are standing trial. 

YSP Diyarbakır MP Serhat Eren, organized a press briefing at the party headquarters today. 

"Institutions that should be in the dock, who should be the suspects, are now in a race in order to intervene in the Kobani Trick Case. In this case of revenge against the Kurds, the institutions that are now racing to intervene are in fact the institutions that should be held responsible," the MP said. 

(AS/RT/PE)