Turkish Prosecutor seeks 5-y Jail Sentences for Pro-Kurdish Party Leaders

The deputy chief prosecutor of Istanbul’s Bakırkoy district, Kadir Yılmaz, prepared an indictment for HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas and Ankara deputy Sirri Sureyya Onder, Both Turkish MPs, over charges of ‘spreading terrorist group propaganda’ for praising the militant Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in speeches dating back to 2013, when the PKK and Ankara were negotiating terms for peace.
 
"The suspects are lawmakers of a party represented in the parliament. Some of the speeches made in the rally in Istanbul praised the PKK/KCK [Kurdistan Communities Union], which aims to form an independent Kurdistan based on Marxist and Leninist values and which has staged armed attacks since 1984,” the indictment read, adding that the state “has the right to expect political figures to stay away from statements praising and legitimizing terrorist attacks.”
 
Many prosecutions have been launched against HDP politicians since their parliamentary immunity was lifted in May.
 
The latest announcement could ignite further tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast, blighted by conflict for more than a year.