ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish court on Thursday decided to release the former co-mayor of Amed (Diyarbakir) municipality who was expelled from the position and detained in 2019 for terror-related charges. She won the position on the ticket of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Filiz Buluttekin won the seat in the June 2019 local elections and became the co-mayor of Amed. However, as part of a nationwide crackdown on her party, she was replaced by a pro-government trustee and then detained in December same year for allegedly being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (HDP) and supporting it.
Mezopotamya Agency, news outlet which covers Kurds in Turkey, reported on Thursday that a court in Amed ordered Buluttekin’s release after she requested to be freed.
Buluttekin is also accused of attending the funerals of some PKK fighters.
“I am a member of the HDP. I participated in all press releases within the framework of political activity and within the framework of my constitutional rights. I did not participate in any crime. Therefore, I demand my acquittal and release,” she said during Thursday’s trial, according to the Kurdish news outlet.
The court also banned her from travelling abroad, according to Jinnews.
Turkish officials claim that the HDP is the political arm of the PKK but the pro-Kurdish party has denied this. The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.
Thousands of HDP members have been arrested in recent years for terror-related charges, including former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, as well as mayors.
Filiz Buluttekin won the seat in the June 2019 local elections and became the co-mayor of Amed. However, as part of a nationwide crackdown on her party, she was replaced by a pro-government trustee and then detained in December same year for allegedly being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (HDP) and supporting it.
Mezopotamya Agency, news outlet which covers Kurds in Turkey, reported on Thursday that a court in Amed ordered Buluttekin’s release after she requested to be freed.
Buluttekin is also accused of attending the funerals of some PKK fighters.
“I am a member of the HDP. I participated in all press releases within the framework of political activity and within the framework of my constitutional rights. I did not participate in any crime. Therefore, I demand my acquittal and release,” she said during Thursday’s trial, according to the Kurdish news outlet.
The court also banned her from travelling abroad, according to Jinnews.
Turkish officials claim that the HDP is the political arm of the PKK but the pro-Kurdish party has denied this. The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.
Thousands of HDP members have been arrested in recent years for terror-related charges, including former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, as well as mayors.
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