Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak reunites with supporters after 8 years in prison
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At the final hearing of the Kobanî Case held yesterday, politician Gültan Kışanak, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison and released, was welcomed in Diyarbakır with the slogan “Jin, jiyan, azadî” (Women, life, freedom).
Kışanak, a prominent figure in the Kurdish political movement, had been imprisoned since 2016.
Verdict reached in Kobanî trial: Selahattin Demirtaş receives 42-year prison sentence
After being released from Kocaeli No. 1 High-Security F-Type Prison, Kışanak arrived in Diyarbakır today. She was greeted by many people, including Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Ahmet Türk, who was sentenced to 10 years in the same case, Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Devrim Demir, and Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayors Doğan Hatun and Serra Bucak.
Kışanak, who was welcomed with flowers, gave a speech:
"Kobani is a matter of conscience"
“We know that as long as the prison doors remain closed, we are not truly free. Meeting with you all here today, reuniting with our people and our land, is of course an honor. This is the result of your honorable struggle outside and the struggle of political prisoners inside. Our comrades faced an unjust and unlawful decision in a conspiracy trial. As I mentioned earlier, Kobani was essentially a matter of humanity, a matter of conscience. At that time, everyone from young to old stood up for humanity, conscience, and honor in Kobani. Later, political operations were carried out under the guise of the Kobani conspiracy trial."
"Our hope is greater than ever"
“This remains a matter of humanity and conscience. Yesterday's decision is not meaningful to us. It is not valid in any legal, humanitarian, or moral sense, nor does it reflect the truth of this country. We know that each of our friends there lived, breathed, and fought for peace, freedom, and democracy for our people. They continue the same resistance in prisons today. I greet you all with respect and love, with our longing and yearning for our friends. We will fight together. We will welcome the day when this injustice ends, and when Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, and all our political prisoner friends reunite with their people, their land, their country, and their families."
“I want to greet you all with this hope. Yes, our hearts are heavy, but our hope is stronger than ever.”
"Our hearts are heavy"
Ahmet Türk also spoke:
“For a long time, the Kurdish people have faced political genocide. The Kobani conspiracy trial stands as a political case aimed at intimidating and silencing the Kurdish people and eliminating their achievements. We know that from past to present, we have faced a racist and nationalist mentality aimed at erasing the gains of the Kurdish people. We want you to know that no matter what they do, this people will never bow their heads. The struggle for freedom, for a democratic future, for the free future of the Kurdish people will continue. Today, as Gültan Kışanak also mentioned, our hearts are heavy because our comrades are still inside. But for the future, for a free and democratic future, we will fight today with more organization and belief than yesterday. I greet you all with respect and these feelings.”
"I also greet our friends Gültan, Ayla, Sebahat, and other released friends with love. Yes, their hearts are heavy. But I want to express our happiness at meeting here."
DEM members surrounded by police
Meanwhile, the sentencing of politicians including Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ in the Kobanî Case was protested in Diyarbakır. Due to a 4-day ban on demonstrations and activities in the city, DEM Party and DBP members who gathered in front of Ceylan Mall were surrounded by police. After negotiations with the police, permission was granted for a press statement.
"A political coup"
DEM Party Provincial Co-Chair Abbas Şahin stated, “Yesterday, the AKP-MHP judiciary in Sincan committed another legal massacre. With the decision taken in Sincan, Selahattin Demirtaş was sentenced to 43 years and 6 months, Figen Yüksekdağ to 30 years and 3 months, and our other friends to hundreds of years in total. Just as the indictment was written in the Palace and MHP Headquarters, this decision was made by the same centers. There is no longer a judiciary in Turkey. The decision taken by the judiciary in Turkey is one that would make military junta courts look lenient. Another legal coup, another political coup, has occurred in the Kobanî Case.
"Normalization means eliminating Kurdish politics"
Şahin noted that while messages of normalization and détente are being given, the ruling power is attempting to erase the HDP, Kurdish politics, revolutionaries, and democrats from the political scene. “But they should know very well that we Kurds, workers, and the poor will always stand together in solidarity and overturn these dirty decisions. We will one day liberate our friends. We will fight for Turkey's democracy, for a democratic republic, alongside Selahattin and Figen. Those who made this decision should know very well that the day for our people is not far off. We promise to fight even more determinedly for those days.”
(İY(AÖ/VK)