The AKP's unlawful and fraudulent election preparations continue unabated with the support of the judiciary. Just one day after snap elections were announced as 24 June 2018, Ms Selma Irmak, deputy for Hakkari, and Mr Osman Baydemir, deputy for Urfa, were stripped of their parliamentary seats after court decisions were read out in the parliament. Thus, the number of HDP deputies stripped off their parliamentary mandate increased to 11. On the same day, Mardin Assize Court sentenced Ms Gülser Yıldırım, deputy for Mardin, to 7 years and 6 months in prison with the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
Unable to have the desired results in election polls, the AKP government and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan do not hesitate to involve in all kinds of unlawful practices to destroy the opposition. Using all the means of the state at their disposal to the fullest extent, they have been
trying to liquidate political opponents by means of the judiciary that they have turned into a mere instrument.
At a time when the most basic human rights and rule of law are suspended with the decrees issued under emergency rule, the government have been preparing for an unfair election by using majority power, which they ensured with an alliance with the MHP, to pass legislation (such as amendments in the electoral law) that would help them win in the elections.
The speeches that were used as evidence to sentence Mr Osman Baydemir (with the charge of insulting a police officer) and Mr Selma Irmak (with the charge of making terrorist propaganda) clearly fall within the scope of freedom of expression and political activities.
It is also a fact that the government has been pressuring both local and appeals courts to make decisions in the cases against HDP deputies as soon as possible. As a result, Ms Gülser Yıldırım, deputy for Mardin, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison with the charge of being a member of a terrorist organization.
These decisions have no legitimacy and validity for the public who elected HDP deputies. They are unlawful decisions made by political motives and government interventions in the judiciary. We deem these decisions as illegitimate and do not recognize them. We will continue our rightful struggle until the rule of law and democracy reign in the country.
Ayşe Acar Başaran
Vice Co-Chair of HDP
Deputy for Batman
19 April 2018