Leyla Güven faces two new investigations

In a speech at an event of the Provincial Association of the Democratic Party of the Peoples (HDP) in Şırnak in December 2020, Leyla Güven refer to Abdullah Öcalan as ‘sayın’, ‘dear’. The Turkish police see this as a violation of the law and Güven as guilty of “apology of a criminal” with her statement. The leader of the Kurdish liberation movement is sentenced to life imprisonment and has been held for the past 22 years in Imrali prison island.

Two public prosecutors, in Şırnak and in Hakkari, have launched investigations against Leyla Güven who has been in prison since the end of last year. In both provinces the charges have been admitted by the regional courts. The accusation is putting Abdullah Öcalan “in a positive light”.

According to Serdar Çelebi, one of Güven’s defense lawyer, the dates of the hearings have not yet been set. If the former MP is convicted, she faces a prison sentence of between two and five years for each case.

Despite a ruling by the Turkish Court of Cassation, according to which “dear Öcalan” is accepted because is within freedom of expression, Kurds are repeatedly arbitrarily investigated by the Turkish judiciary for using this term.

In mid-April, proceedings against Leyla Güven for “terrorist propaganda” were initiated in Amed. The background to this are statements by the politician at a meeting of the “Kurdistan Alliance” in early 2020. The alliance was formed in the spring of 2019 in the run-up to the local elections, and no longer limits its activities to elections. The main goal of the front is to strengthen inter-Kurdish unity.