Court rejects request for abatement of proceedings against Pervin Buldan

The trial of Pervin Buldan has continued in Ankara. The co-chairwoman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is charged with being a member of a terrorist organization on the basis of press statements and participation in events. The Kurdish politician did not attend the eleventh main hearing before the 18th Heavy Penal Court in Ankara and was represented by her defense attorney Kenan Maçoğlu.

The lawyer requested that the case be dropped and referred to the Constitutional Court’s decision in the case of Buldan’s faction colleague Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu: “The ruling was clear and leaves no room for discussion. It holds that there is a legal loophole, a legal regulation is required and a deputy cannot be put on trial. These proceedings must be discontinued. Otherwise, the court commits a criminal offense.”

The court rejected the request to abate the proceedings and adjourned the hearing until February 16, 2022.

The HDP deputy Gergerlioğlu had his parliamentary mandate revoked in March due to a final conviction on “terror charges”. He was forcibly removed from parliament by police and arrested at his home in early April. Gergerlioğlu sued against the revocation of his parliamentary mandate before the Turkish Constitutional Court and won. After nearly three months in detention, he was released on July 6 and is now once again a member of Turkey’s parliament.