ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Twenty provinces across Turkey have banned protests and social gatherings for four days following a controversial court ruling sentencing several Kurdish politicians to lengthy jail time.
A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced former co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas to 42 years in prison, and Figen Yuksekdag to 30 years and three months, for their alleged involvement in 2014 protests in support of the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria (Rojava).
The court also sentenced Ahmet Turk, a veteran Kurdish politician who became the mayor of Mardin municipality during the March local elections, to 10 years in prison.
Following the ruling, the governorates of 20 provinces across Turkey banned social gatherings, events, and demonstrations for four days, citing tensions that may arise following the controversial ruling.
The Kurdish provinces of Diyarbakir (Amed), Batman (Elih), Adana, Van, and Hakkari (Colemerg), as well as the western coastal province of Izmir, are among the provinces that issued the ban.
In October 2014, Kobane was under attack by the Islamic State (ISIS). HDP, now rebranded as Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), called for street protests to ask the Turkish government to open a corridor allowing military aid from the Kurdistan Region to reach the Kurdish city. The protests turned violent and 51 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
Days after the start of the protests, Demirtas held a press conference in Amed where he criticized the violence while remaining firm in his support for the protestors. The demonstrations ended on his call.
On Friday DEM Party spokesperson Aysegul Dogan announced that the party will arrange demonstrations in Adana, Diyarbakir and Istanbul on Saturday, despite the ban.
The court also ruled the release of veteran Kurdish politician, Gultan Kisanak who has been in jail for over seven years. She later told reporters that people need peace not freedom in Turkey.
“We do not recognize this verdict. Selahattin [Demirtas], Figen [Yuksekdag], and those on trial in the Kobane case have been acquitted in the hearts of Kurds, Turks, workers, women, and youth; they are free," DEM Party Co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan told reporters in Ankara, following the court decision.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that he sees a political "softening" in Turkey following his election loss.
“We have been hearing normalization and softening messages (from the government circles) in these days, but today the HDP, Kurdish politics, and democrats are being attempted to be erased from the political scene," Bakirhan said.
Updated at 3:13 pm
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