Turkey pro-Kurdish party’s ex-leader tried on ‘terror’ charges

ANKARA: The former coleader of Turkey’s third largest political party went on trial in Ankara on Tuesday on charges of disseminating “terror propaganda” for outlawed Kurdish militants.

Figen Yuksekdag and the other co-leader of the pro- Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party ( HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, were detained in November and have been held in jail ever since.

Their incarceration gravely alarmed the European Union and raised further concerns over use of the state of emergency imposed in Turkey in the wake of a failed coup last July.

In her testimony, Yuksekdag denounced her trial as political, claiming that the judicial system was beholden to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

“The government thinks the courts are under its ownership,” she said.

She added that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dominated Turkey to the extent that anyone who dared oppose him was deemed to be a “terrorist”.

“We have one man, one party, one way of thinking, one ideology and everyone against is a terrorist,” she told the court.

If found guilty, Yuksekdag risks being sentenced to up to 83 years in jail, according to the indictment. Demirtas risks a term of up to 142 years.

The HDP party in May named Serpil Kemalbay as Yuksekdag’s successor as co-leader after the Supreme Court revoked her party membership. Demirtas, however, remains in his post.

Dozens of Yuksekdag’s supporters crowded the courthouse, shouting “Resisting, resisting we will win!” and “Women are proud of Figen!” — AFP