ANKARA - The Kobanê Political Genocide Trial in which 108 people, 28 of whom were arrested, were tried, including HDP former co-chairs Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş.

 

The second hearing of the Kobanê Political Genocide Trial, including the former co-chairs of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, in which 108 people were tried, continues today on the second day after the official holiday on May 19. The hearing of the trial, which the delegation of the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court has heard, started in the Sincan Prison Campus. Experts from the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey, diplomatic representatives of the EU member states, HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar, Democratic Regions Party (DBP) co-chairs Saliha Aydeniz and Keskin Bayındır, as well as a large number of MPs, and district organization executives and women’s organizations are also watching the hearing.

 

The ‘bomb search’ justification

 

Lawyers and journalists were held in front of the Sincan Prison Campus on the grounds that there was a "bomb search" before the hearing, during which intense security measures were taken. After the lawyers' arguments with the police, the intakes started.

 

What happened?

 

During the protests against ISIS attack on Kobanê between October 6-8, 2014, HDP Headquarters' Twitter posts were cited as the reason, and an investigation was launched against the former HDP Co-Chairs and Central Executive Board (MYK) members on October 9, 2014, and onwards. While the Kobanê investigations were added to the indictments of the HDP politicians with the lifting of their immunity on May 20, 2016, the investigation opened against the MYK members was held until 2018. Many politicians were re-included in the MYK investigation, which was expanded on June 19, 2018. Although it was confirmed by the Ankara 16th High-Criminal Court that it was repeated, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were arrested for the second time on September 20, 2019, on the grounds of the Kobanê protests, although they had been arrested with the same accusation before.

 

Imprisoned politicians

 

Within the scope of the Kobanê investigation, 20 politicians who were members of the MYK, including Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Ayla Akat Ata and Emine Ayna, were detained on September 24, 2020 after a year has passed since the arrest of Co-Chairs Figen and Selahattin. On October 2, 2020, while Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Altan Tan and Gülfer Akkaya were released under judicial control, 17 politicians were arrested. HDP former MPs Aysel Tuğluk, Gültan Kışanak and Sebahat Tuncel, who were detained from a different file, were once again "arrested" within the scope of the Kobanê file. Again, Gülser Yıldırım, who was under arrest from a different file, was given "house arrest" within the scope of this file. HDP former MP İbrahim Binici and people who served at various levels of the party were also added to the file and arrested. The number of people arrested within the scope of the file has increased to 28.

 

Indictment

 

The 3530-page indictment, which was held on December 30, 2020, six years and three months after the protests against ISIS attack on Kobanê on October 6-8, 2014, was submitted to the court together with the attachments of 324 folders. The indictment was accepted by the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court a week later on January 7, 2021. In the indictment, 108 people are charged with many charges, including allegations of "disrupt the unity and territorial integrity of the state" and "killing people" 37 times. The names of 37 people who lost their lives appeared on the first 241 pages of the indictment. As the victim complainant, there were 2,676 names, including the Ministry of Justice, Justice and Development Party, Republican People’s Party, Free Cause Party, Nationalist Movement Party, the Ministry of Family and Social Policies, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate of Security, and the Ministry of National Defense. The indictment also included the actions taken on October 6-8, as well as witnesses and secret witness statements.