Prison Sentence Demanded for DTP Politicians

Prosecutor Ergün Tokgöz of the Diyarbakir 4th Heavy Penal Court has demanded that Diyarbakir MP Aysel Tugluk from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and Diyarbakir province party chair Hilmi Aydogdu be imprisoned for "spreading propaganda of a terrorist organisation".

Constitution and anti-terorrism law cited 

At the hearing on 29 November, Tokgöz presented his deliberations. He argued that Tugluk's parliamentarian immunity should be lifted, citing Articles 14 and 83/2 of the constitution.

According to Tokgöz, Tugluk "has accepted the terrorist organisation PK as a peaceful and democratic solution", has "spoken of the state's imposition on Kurdish citizens who are citizens of the Turkish Republic", and "has spread propaganda in front of the participants by presenting the terrorist organisation PKK as pacificists and democrats."

The two defendants are being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and five years imprisonment are being demanded.

Tugluk and Aydogdu's lawyer Fethi Gümüş argued that his client Tugluk was an MP and could thus not be tried. He called for the trial to be dropped.

Court president Judge Cengiz Coban set the next hearing for 25 December in order for the defense to prepare.

Speech in 2006 

On 3 September 2006, Tugluk made a speech at the World Peace Day activities in Diyarbakir. She said, "As you all know, nearly four million people have expressed the opinion that the honourable Öcalan's democratic solution could be possible. No one and no political claims can ignore this declaration of will...We take the PKK's democratic solution declaration of the Kurdish question seriously and believe that the PKK can serve the begining of a democratic and peaceful solution. We believe that the declaration needs to be evaluated..."

Aydogdu had also demanded that the peace declaration be considered and that all who wanted peace support it. (EÖ/AG)