‘You have been troubling the HDP since June 7 elections’

* Drawing: Ercan Altuntaş

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The third hearing of the "Kobanî trial" began at the Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court in Sincan Campus today (May 20).

There are 108 defendants from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP); while 28 people have been arrested pending trial, there are judicial control measures on six and warrants against 75 people.

CLICK - Kobanî trial: Request for recusal rejected

In the trial over the "Kobanî protests of October 6-8, 2014", politicians face life imprisonment aggravated for 38 times.

'I reject every single member of court board'

Today's hearing was followed by HDP Co-Chair Mithat Sancar, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chairs, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Spokespersons and several bar association chairs.

Adjourned on May 18, the hearing continued today first with the statement of Ayla Akat Ata. She briefly said the following:

"Today, in the world, fascism has come down to populist regimes. As is the case in several parts of the world, this populist regime has risen in Turkey and we are now struggling against this regime.

"What is attempted to be put on trial here is not us personally, but the set of thoughts of the HDP. The people lined behind me are all the otherized people. I reject every single member of the court board."

'You have become the government's plaything'

Taking the floor afterwards, Gültan Kışanak said:

"This case is a case of removing us from the democratic politics, from the Parliament. (Referring to the court board) You are catering to this. Don't engage in demagoguery here by interrupting our speeches and saying, 'I wish you had spoken at the Parliament.

"Today, what the judiciary is going through is a great structural crisis. The judiciary has become a plaything of the government. Corruption, shamelessness and mafiatic relations are covered up. But people are arrested for posting a single tweet.

"Since this trial began, you have given two decisions about our arrest. Two of the news cited in the decision about me are the statements of our Co-Chairs when I was in detention. Three of them were made by our party members when I was arrested. The remaining five news stories are the same. Here, the indictment and decisions are such filled-up texts. They apparently wrote Gültan Kışanak on the Internet and added whatever they found.

"On June 7, we showed that a hope was possible in Turkey and that different identities could do politics side by side. A political coup was triggered immediately. Since then, they have been troubling the HDP."

Gültan Kışanak also reminded the court board that the ones responsible for the murders on October 6 - 8, 2014 have not yet been investigated:

"If only it had been investigated who claimed every single life, why they did it, who made the provocateurs mingle with the people defending their democratic rights. If there had been a judiciary investigating it... That was the place to do it, not here. There are politicians in this room today. There are politicians who wish to find solutions for the problems of this country, who do not shy away from paying prices. Your indictment says it. Your indictment is full of our speeches and remarks, from the top to the bottom. How will you find the responsible ones from an indictment consisting of this?"

'You have turned towards the government'

Günay Kubilay also said:

"The court board which is running this plot might think that they lean on sturdy rocks, that they lean on Mount Ağrı. I remind you of Zekeriya Öz. He was given an armored car. Where is he now? You have turned towards the government. If you do it, take off your robes and leave."

The hearing continued with speeches about the examination of arrests.

The trial will continue at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow (May 21).

From the Kobanî indictment

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment regarding the Kobanî protests that took place on October 6-8, 2014.

108 people, including the arrested former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş, were among the "suspects".

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), the indictment demanded the penalization of all suspects on charges of "disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state", "killing for 37 times, "attempted killing for 31 times", "burning the flag" and "violating the Law on Protecting Atatürk."

Prepared by the Terror Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the indictment was sent to the Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court. The court accepted the indictment on January 7, 2021.

Here are the names of all defendants: Figen Yüksekdağ, Sebahat Tuncel, Selahattin Demirtaş, Selma Irmak, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Gülfer Akkaya, Gülser Yıldırım, Gültan Kışanak, Ahmet Türk, Ali Ürküt, Alp Altınörs, Altan Tan, Ayhan Bilgen, Nazmi Gür, Ayla Akat Ata, Aysel Tuğluk, İbrahim Binici, Ayşe Yağcı, Nezir Çakan, Pervin Oduncu, Meryem Adıbelli, Mesut Bağcık, Bircan Yorulmaz, Bülent Barmaksız, Can Memiş, Cihan Erdal, Berfin Özgü Köse, Günay Kubilay, Dilek Yağlı, Emine Ayna, Emine Beyza Üstün, Mehmet Hatip Dicle, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Yurdusev Özsökmenler, Arife Köse, Ayfer Kordu, Aynur Aşan, Ayşe Tonğuç, Azime Yılmaz, Bayram Yılmaz, Bergüzar Dumlu, Cemil Bayık, Ceylan Bağrıyanık, Cihan Ekin, Demir Çelik, Duran Kalkan, Elif Yıldırım, Emine Tekas, Emine Temel, Emrullah Cin, Engin Karaaslan, Enver Güngör, Ercan Arslan, Fatma Şenpınar, Fehman Hüseyin, Ferhat Aksu, Filis Arslan, Filiz Duman, Gönül Tepe, Gülseren Törün, Gülten Alataş, Gülüşan Eksen, Gülüzar Tural, Güzel İmecik, Hacire Ateş, Hatice Altınışık, Hülya Oran, İsmail Özden, İsmail Şengül, Kamuran Yüksek, Layika Gültekin, Leyla Söğüt Aydeniz, Mahmut Dora, Mazhar Öztürk, Mazlum Tekdağ, Abdulselam Demirkıran, Mehmet Taş, Mehmet Tören, Menafi Bayazit, Mızgın Arı, Murat Karayılan, Mustafa Karasu, Muzaffer Ayata, Nazlı Taşpınar, Neşe Baltaş, Nihal Ay, Nuriye Kesbir, Remzi Kartal, Rıza Altun, Ruken Karagöz, Sabiha Onar, Sabri Ok, Salih Akdoğan, Salih Müslüm Muhammed, Salman Kurtulan, Sara Aktaş, Sibel Akdeniz, Şenay Oruç, Ünal Ahmet Çelen, Yahya Figan, Yasemin Becerekli, Yusuf Koyuncu, Yüksel Baran, Zeki Çelik, Zeynep Karaman, Zeynep Ölbeci, Zübeyir Aydar.

About Kobanî protests

Before the protests held to support Kobanî in northern Syria in 2014, those who were waiting in the district of Suruç, Urfa in southeastern Turkey and wanted to cross the border were intervened with pepper gas and rubber bullets. In the meantime, some pictures allegedly showing ISIS militia crossing the border of Turkey were published.

President and ruling AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements indicating that they equated PKK with ISIS. While the wounded coming from Kobanî were kept waiting on the border, the wounded from ISIS were treated at hospitals. Several news reports were reported in the press, saying "Kobanî fell." These news reports were denied every time.

After the HDP made a call to take to the streets against a possible massacre in Kobanî, thousands of people protested in Kurdish-majority provinces as well as Ankara and İstanbul. While left parties also supported these protests, deaths also occurred with the onset of police violence. Street conflicts ensued. 42 people lost their lives from October 6 to 12, 2014.

According to a report by the Human Rights Association (İHD), 46 people died, 682 people were wounded and 323 people were arrested in the protests held between September 7 and 12, 2014. As reported by the AA, 31 people lost their lives, 221 citizens and 139 police officers were wounded.

(AS/SD)

KOBANÎ TRIAL