HAKKARİ - In the first hearing of the trial in which DTK Co-chair Leyla Güven was tried on charges of "Mr. Öcalan" expression and "instigating the people to hatred and enmity", the prosecutor demanded up to five years in prison.

 

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair Leyla Güven was accused of "praising crime and criminals" and "instigating the people to hatred and enmity" for her expression "Mr. Öcalan". Leyla Güven attended the first hearing at the Hakkari 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance through the Sound and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from the Elazığ Women’s Closed Prison, where she was detained.

 

‘I said what I had to say’

 

Stating that she said what she had to say as a politician, Leyla continued: "I made statements like this because we aimed to relieve the tears of mothers. We saw good results in the solution process at that time. We wanted this to continue. I said that it would be beneficial to work with Mr. Öcalan in a solution and peace."

 

‘I am willing to die if there is a solution’

 

Leyla said that the Kurdish problem continues to be unsolvable, and that there is a search for a solution during and after the period of President Süleyman Demirel and Tansu Çiller. Leyla noted that this search continued during the period of President Tayyip Erdoğan and expressed that this problem remained unsolved and that it was still unsolved. Leyla pointed out that she thinks the solution is not in conflict but in peace, and that she has expressed her thoughts on various platforms, noting that she has been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for these statements. Leyla said: "I am willing to even die if there is a solution. I do not think that there was anything that would constitute a crime in the statements I made on the date of the incident. If it is a crime to say Mr. Öcalan, then Bülent Arınç and many similar AKP deputies should be tried for the same crime. As HDP members, double standards are applied to us in this regard. We are not given any say in any way. I am being punished for the words I said for peace."

 

‘Mr. Öcalan is a term of address’

 

Leyla’s lawyer Serdar Çelebi, who was connected to the hearing via SEGBİS, stated that the material and moral elements of the alleged crime did not occur. Expressing that the expression "Mr. Öcalan" is a term of address, Serdar noted; "In many judicial decisions, the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights have stated that this expression is not a crime."

 

Prosecutor gave an opinion

 

In her statement, the Public Prosecutor stated that Leyla said that the Kurds were lynched in the western provinces, that she described the operations in the region as war, that she praised Abdullah Öcalan and that she committed the crimes of "praising the crime and criminal" and "instigating the people to hatred and enmity". He demanded that Leyla be sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to five years.

Accepting Leyla’s lawyer Serdar’s request for time to defend against the opinion, the court adjourned the hearing to September 22.