An Ankara courtroom has handed down heavy jail phrases to Kurdish politicians within the trial associated to Turkey’s 2014 Kurdish rebellion over Kurdish resistance in opposition to the Islamic State forces’ invasion of Kobani in northern Syria, media stories mentioned.
Amongst these convicted are Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Get together (HDP), Figen Yuksekgad, additionally co-chairman of the HDP, Gultan Kisanak, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Get together (BDP) and Ahmet Turk, the present mayor. of the town of Mardin and former co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Get together (DTP). The courtroom sentenced Demirtas to 42 years, Yuksekdag to 30 years and three months, Kisanak to 12 years and 82-year-old Turk to 10 years, Turkish media reported.
In the identical trial, within the specifically designed room of Ankara’s Xinjiang Jail, a complete of 108 individuals had been tried, accused of collaborating within the PKK group and inciting the violent protest occasions that befell on October 6-8, 2014. 72 of the accused had been tried in absentia. , as they evade seize.
In his proposal, the prosecutor requested for seven life sentences with aggravated limitations for Demirtas and Yukskendag, as soon as every for “menace in opposition to the unity and integrity of the state” and 6 occasions every for six individuals who died in the course of the period of episodes.
The timeline of the case
In October 2014, the “Islamic State” launched a large-scale operation to seize Kobani in northern Syria with a predominantly Kurdish inhabitants. Since October, the Islamic State has begun to make important progress from the periphery to the town heart.
Throughout this era, pro-Kobani demonstrations had been organized in varied cities in Turkey, whereas HDP officers held conferences with the Turkish authorities for the reason that starting of the disaster. One of many principal calls for of the HDP was the opening of a hall to Kobani by way of Turkish territory, to ensure that army assist from different elements of northern Syria and the autonomous Kurdish authorities of northern Iraq to achieve there.
On October 6, the HDP known as on residents by way of Twitter to take to the streets of Turkey to protest, as they did on a large scale, principally in cities within the east and southeast of the nation.
On the identical time, the potential for airstrikes on Kobani by Western international locations was mentioned, however the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dominated out this proposal, stating that airstrikes can not present an answer to the battle in opposition to the “Islamic State”.
Dozens useless within the incidents
By 8 October, violence had intensified with clashes between safety forces and protesters, and in some locations between protesters and Turkish civilians who sided with safety forces.
Selahattin Demirtas, at a press convention in Diyarbakır, defended the demonstrations, however condemned the violence. On October 9, the episodes ended.
Based on the official information, in the course of the incidents in 35 Turkish provinces, 37 individuals had been killed and one other 761 had been injured, of which 326 had been members of the safety forces. Additionally, based on the identical information, 197 colleges had been burned, 269 public buildings had been broken, in addition to 1,731 residences and enterprise premises, whereas 1,230 autos had been broken.
#Turkey #Heavy #sentences #Demirtas #politicians #rebellion
