‘Stop the shameful political show trials in Turkey’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish

An online petition has been launched on change.org website to demand justice for the jailed politicians in Turkey. Addressing the government of Turkey, European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) and President-elect of US Joe Biden, the petition reads, "Stop the shameful political show trials in Turkey and the case of Metropolitan Mayor of Diyarbakır."

Titled "Free Dr. Mızraklı now," the campaign specifically raises concerns about Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, the dismissed and arrested Co-Mayor of Turkey's Kurdish-majority metropolitan city of Diyarbakır.

"The sentencing of Dr. Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı to 9.5 years in prison for no reason, other than his political, medical and humanitarian engagement and dedication is a clear miscarriage of justice which must be urgently addressed," reads the petition and briefly adds the following:

'Just a couple of weeks after his election'

"A well-respected medical doctor, Mızraklı was elected as mayor on behalf of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the local election on 31 March 2019, after serving as an MP from the same party between June 2018 and March 2019. Mızraklı held various positions, such as the head of Diyarbakır Chamber of Medicine, in his beloved city of Diyarbakir where he has been working as a surgeon since 1991.

"Just a couple of weeks after his election, on 19 August 2019, Mızraklı was first dismissed from his post and replaced by a government appointed trustee, a widely used method of dispensing with elected officials by imposing non-elected administrators on Kurdish cities.

"He was subsequently detained on 21 October 2019 and a day later a court ruled that he should be held in pretrial detention. On November 1, the prosecutor issued an indictment against him on charges of 'membership of a terrorist organization', a blanket accusation used as a strategic tool for wiping out political opposition and dissent.

"The allegations that served as a pretext for Mızraklı's dismissal and imprisonment are based on testimony made by an imprisoned informant, who accused the mayor of 'acting on behalf of the PKK' (Kurdistan Workers' Party) while he was discharging his professional duties as a surgeon."

'A shameful fabrication of evidence'

The petition has specifically underlined: "Although the informer was arrested on 26 May 2016, the charges against Mızraklı were filed by a court on 20 March 2019, exactly ten days before his election as mayor of Diyarbakir, well in anticipation that he will be elected. Revealingly, the informant was subsequently released from detention by a court order.

"Dr Mızraklı's dismissal, arrest and punishment all are based on a shameful fabrication of 'evidence' with utter disrespect to the most basic principles of the rule of law and procedural justice. His imprisonment constitutes nothing less than an outrageous miscarriage of justice and living proof of the political nature of trials targeting the elected Kurdish co-mayors, members of parliament and local councils in particular und opposition in general."

'Keep a watchful eye on the crackdown'

Within this context, the undersigned have

• "called on human rights defenders, academics, medical and media organizations, and all pro-democracy and human rights organizations across the globe to keep a watchful eye on the ongoing crackdown on political dissent, opposition, elected officials and MPs in Turkey.
• "called on the EU, the Council of Europe, the new American administration of President John Biden, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take all necessary diplomatic and political actions in favor of the elected officials who have been imprisoned in Turkey on similar spurious charges.
• "implored the Turkish government to immediately reinstate all mayors and other elected officials to their positions and to redress the injustices inflicted on them and their loved ones."

(PT/SD)