Politics

Turkey court sentences Kurdish lawmaker to ten years in prison

Authorities have been holding Irmak, a representative for the Kurdish Mardin Province at the Turkish Parliament, in pre-trial detention since her arrest last year.

Ari Khalidi 2017/11/03 12:16

middle east HDP Bakur SelmaIrmak Mardin

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - A Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker, Selma Irmak on Friday received ten years of imprisonment from a Turkish court over charges of "membership in a terrorist group."

The criminal court in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir claimed Irmak's previous speeches at political rallies and meetings constituted "propaganda for a terrorist group," in her case the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is waging a decades-long guerrilla warfare against the Turkish army over state repression of Kurdish rights.

Judges also convicted her of "leading and aiding" the PKK but absolved her of accusations of "attendance in meetings, walks, and protests banned by authorities."

Authorities have been holding Irmak, a representative for the Kurdish Mardin Province at the Turkish Parliament, in pre-trial detention in a prison in Kocaeli, east of Istanbul since her arrest last year.

On Saturday is the anniversary of the beginning of a massive crackdown on the Kurdish politicians with the Turkish police units arresting Irmak, HDP's co-leader Selahttin Demirtas, and 11 other lawmakers during night raids on their houses in several provinces.

Prosecutors were asking up to 52 years and six months in prison for Irmak who since her college years in the 1990s already spent over a dozen years in jail for her civic activism and political affiliations.

Kurdistan 24's Diyarbakir bureau reported that she did not appear before the court while her lawyer was present during the trial.

The same day Turkish judiciary sentenced Irmak to a decade of imprisonment, HDP nominated her for the Parliament's speakership as the current Speaker Ismail Kahraman's two years' term is legally coming to an end.

However, she faces a prospect of losing her seat at the Parliament in the same manner five of her colleagues were ousted from the assembly due to their conviction in courts.

The number of pro-Kurdish lawmakers is reduced from 59 to 54 at the 550-seat Parliament.

Editing by Sam A.