HDP’s Gergerlioğlu appeals against his expulsion from Parliament

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu has made an application to the Constitutional Court and appealed against his expulsion from the Parliament.

Sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison for tweeting a news story about the Resolution Process for the Kurdish question, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was stripped of his MP status on March 17 after the ruling was upheld by the Court of Cassation and the final ruling was read out at the General Assembly.

Applying to the Constitutional Court for the repeal of this decision today (March 23), Gergerlioğlu delivered a press statement in front of the top court with HDP İstanbul MP Erol Katırcıoğlu and his attorneys.

In his speech addressing the reporters, Gergerlioğlu referred to main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Enis Berberoğlu, who has regained his MP status following a ruling of right violation.

Gergerlioğlu said the following in brief:

'It might be done to you as well'

"I have been stripped of my MP status even though I did not commit any crimes. Everyone knows this unlawfulness. But some people are still silent. There is an unlawful situation and a murder of judiciary that will also find you tomorrow. Don't stay silent in the face of this.

"Whatever is done to me today might be done to you tomorrow and to others later. The charge brought against me is over a post that I shared on Twitter. There is not a single person who can call it a crime. One does not have to be a legal expert to understand this unlawfulness.

"The decision given despite all warnings is a matter of unlawfulness. When my sentence became final, I still had my legislative immunity. Several Constitutional legsists wrote about this issue. They said, 'It will be an unbelievable ruling, this cannot happen.' They objected.

"How could they not object? There is a ruling that disregards the Constitution. But, in spite of all this, [Parliamentary Speaker] Mustafa Şentop had the ruling be read out. Shame on you, Şentop, for not protecting the nation's will. I call on him to resign from office. Şentop is a Parliamentary Speaker who has trampled upon the nation's will, rights and law.

"Even though he knew that it was a lie and aspersion, he made the officers take down minutes and make them add a fake video to the official documents. Who will we trust? Something else was added to this scenario and they took me into custody in a haste on charge of 'propagandizing for a terrorist organization.' Who made them do it? Mustafa Şentop."

'How can a human stop seeking justice?'

Addressing the MPs outside his party, Gergerlioğlu said, "They need to make a choice at this historic moment of the Republic of Turkey."

"On whose side will they be? On the side of Mustafa Şentop, who committed unjust and unlawful acts, or on that of Gergerlioğlu, who was subjected to unjust treatment," asked Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu.

"I expect their open and clear support. It is the duty of a Parliamentary Speaker to protect the immunities. The files of several arrested people are waiting at the Court of Cassation. But they picked my file among all those files and gave me a sentence," he said and added:

"Whoever heard of something like that? A person who was elected by this nation and became the MP of 83 million has been stripped of his MP status. Your votes are trampled upon. I will be sent to prison. How can a person who calls oneself a human stop seeking rights?"

'We expect a fair ruling'

Recalling that he also applied to the Constitutional Court about the final ruling, Gergerliolğu said, "What is the Constitutional Court waiting for? For an MP to be sent to prison? We are making another application today. And we are expecting a fair ruling. Who will I trust? If the Constitutional Court does not secure the justice, what will I trust?

"The politicians have got hold of the judiciary, but the Constitutional Court can say stop to this. There is a court that secured justice for Enis Berberoğlu, I am expecting the same rurling. Why should I be a person stripped of his MP status? I am a person working heartily for this nation. Is this done to me because I revealed human rights violations?"

What happened?

HDP Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" on February 21, 2018 on the grounds of a social media post from 2016. This ruling given by the Kocaeli 2nd Heavy Penal Court has recently been upheld by the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.

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 did not leave the Parliament in protest, starting a justice watch.

During his justice watch, he was detained at the Parliament as part of a new investigation on March 21 and released after giving his statement. (HA/SD)