BATMAN - HDP Batman Provincial Co-Chairs Fatma Ablay and Ömer Kulpu were sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

 

Provincial Co-Chairs Fatma Ablay and Ömer Kulpu, who were detained after the raid on May 29, 2020, on the grounds that ‘’illegal poster and banner were hung’’ on the building of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Batman Provincial Organization, were prosecuted on allegations of ‘’doing a propaganda of a terrorist organization’’.The 4th hearing of the case in which they were prosecuted was held at the Batman 2nd High Criminal Court. HDP executives were not allowed to attend the hearing, which was attended by provincial co-chairs and lawyers, by saying ‘’there is instruction’’.

 

The co-chairs who took the floor at the hearing, which started with identification, demanded acquittal by stating that they had not committed a crime. Lawyer Zedan Ekmen stated that the posters of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan are not a crime element and that there are precedents taken by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court in this regard and demanded the acquittal of his clients.

 

1 year 8 months prison sentence

 

Announcing its decision after the defenses, the court board sentenced both co-chairs to one year and eight months in prison on the reason that they were ‘’doing a propaganda of a terrorist organization’’. Punishments were suspended.