Turkish Supreme Court overturns sentence for German-Kurdish singer Hozan Cane
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish Supreme Court on Thursday overturned terrorism charges against 49-year-old Kurdish singer Saide Inac, better known by her stage name Hozan Cane, who was charged with six years and three months in jail in November 2018.
Cane, who sought asylum in Germany at the height of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict in the 1990s, is a dual German-Turkish citizen. Her arrest has led to many calls by politicians in Germany for her release.
Turkish police arrested her in Edirne province on June 23, 2018, with accusations of membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) based on her songs, activities, and pictures on social media.
She was visiting Turkey to sing at rallies for the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the run-up to the Turkish general and presidential elections held on June 24, 2018.
However, according to an Instagram post by Agit Keser, the singer’s nephew, the Court of Cassation, also called Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey, judged all the evidence of “PKK membership” insufficient.
As a result, there will be a re-trial for the German-Kurdish singer. The new hearing is expected to begin on Aug. 6, 2020.
“This means that she can only be sued for terror propaganda,” Keser told Kurdistan 24. The maximum jail sentence for terrorism propaganda is two and half years. “Since she has been in custody for two years, she should actually be released immediately,” he added.
Keser said the court decision is most likely the result of the “German government’s pressure campaign. For example, the (German) travel warning for the coronavirus has not yet been lifted for Turkey!”
Gönül Örs, Cane’s daughter, was also arrested on Sept. 10, 2019, after visiting her mother.
Keser also hopes she is acquitted during her upcoming hearing on June 16, 2020.
Mehmet Tanriverdi, deputy head of the Kurdish Community in Germany (KGD), told Kurdistan 24 that the “whole prosecution of Hozan Canê was a farce.”
“Even the new decision is just a show to make it look like there is some sort of rule of law in Turkey,” he stated. “To us, Hozan Canê is innocent, but we are sure Turkey will sentence her for ‘separatism’ and give her two years, just to justify [her previous] two years of imprisonment. Turkey’s actions are in no way in accordance with the rule of law.”
Moreover, there are several other German citizens held in Turkish prisons since a crackdown on the opposition and Kurds began in the aftermath of the mid-2016 failed coup.
“Many other German citizens, like the hiker Patrick Kraicker, or our own member Nebahat Yildirim, are still in Turkish jails. Although we welcome the new court decision, we know exactly that it is just a farce to make tourists feel secure and welcome again in Turkey. Just a show.”
German Deputy Frank Schwabe of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who has campaigned for the release of Canê and her daughter, said on Twitter that despite the arrest of three opposition lawmakers last Thursday, there is hope Canê and her daughter will be released soon.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany