Former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been jailed for nearly four years, says that his imprisonment is the result of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s fear of himself and his party’s political power.
“I’m not a prisoner, I’m a political hostage. I clearly know that Erdoğan fears me, that is why he keeps me here,” Demirtaş told news portal T24.
“But I and others like me can’t be confined by four walls, that’s what they don’t understand, because we are not anyone’s man, we are the children of the people,” he added.
Former Istanbul Deputy Public Prosecutor Hasan Yılmaz, who prepared the second indictment against businessman, activist, and political prisoner Osman Kavala, was appointed Deputy Justice Minister within seven days of penning the document.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan removed former Deputy Justice Minister Cengiz Öner from his post and replaced him with Yılmaz, author of the current indictment against Kavala, who has been behind bars for nearly three years.
Constitutional Court member’s tweet leads to new row with government
A local court on Oct. 13 rejected former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu’s demand for a trial despite a previous top court ruling, in a move that was deemed by the CHP leader as “unconstitutional.”
The 14th Heavy Penal Court has ignored the Sept. 17 ruling of the Constitutional Court, which said that the politician’s right to compete in elections and to conduct politics as well as his right to personal liberty and security had been violated.
The top court said that the ruling will be sent to the Court of Cassation so that a retrial takes place for the outcomes of the violations to be eliminated.
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu slammed the local court’s decision.
Noam Chomsky has called for the immediate release of businessman, philanthropist and human rights activist Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars for over 1,000 days on bogus charges.
“Osman Kavala, who I remember very well from my visits to Turkey. Strong, passionate, defender of human rights and justice. He has been in prison for over 1,000 days on frivolous charges,” Chomsky said on Oct. 13.
“The European Court of Human Rights has demanded that he be released. Now we should all strongly support that demand. Kavala should be released immediately and such criminal acts of state repression should never be tolerated,” he added.
Erdoğan targets medical group critical of Turkey’s COVID response, calls its chair ‘terrorist’
Erdoğan calls Turkish Medical Association Chair ‘a terrorist’, hints at new law
‘LIGHTS ARE ON’ POLEMIC: Constitutional Court says member’s tweet doesn’t reflect institutional view
İstanbul Mayor İmamoğlu slams ban on Kurdish theater play
It has been many years since I last attended a play in the theaters of Istanbul. Yesterday, I hit the road to see a play that was to be performed in Kurdish. Not that the Italian playwright Dario Fo – whose play was to be performed – really suits my literary tastes, but as a Kurd who has been living in Istanbul for 45 years, I was looking forward to attending a play in Kurdish for the first time in my life.
FREEDOM HOUSE: Freedom on the Net report: Internet is ‘not free’ in Turkey, again
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