DIYARBAKIR-AMED, Turkey’s Kurdish region,— Four Kurdish lawmakers from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were detained on Jan. 25, including Sanliurfa MP Osman Baydemir, Diyarbakir MP Imam Tascier, Igdir MP Mehmet Emin Adiyaman and Mus MP Ahmet Yildirim.
HDP MPs Baydemir, Yildirim and Tascier were taken by force to testify on Wednesday. Another HDP MP Adiyaman was taken by force too to give testimony. All four deputies were released following their testimony.
Yildirim and Baydemir were detained in accordance with a warrant of taking by force in Diyarbakir Courthouse where they went to watch trial.
Same action was taken against HDP Diyarbakir MP Imam Tascier a few hours before that.
A probe was launched by Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into Tascier on charges of “overtly insulting government of Republic of Turkey”, “defaming President”, and “defaming a civil servant based on his/her duty”.
The prosecutor’s office on Wednesday has issued a warrant to take them by force. In line with the warrant, Tascier was detained as he left his home and brought to Diyarbakir Courthouse.
HDP Igdir MP Mehmet Emin Adiyaman as well was taken to prosecutor’s office by police in accordance with the warrant of taking by force this morning.
Meanwhile, the jailed and ousted mayor of the southeastern province of Mardin, Ahmet Turk, was taken to hospital in the eastern province of Elazig in order to obtain a health report. His lawyer and family have repeatedly said his health condition is deteriorating.
In May 2016, parliament voted to strip lawmakers of their legal immunity, paving the way for the HDP legislators’ arrests.
In November 12 Kurdish HDP lawmakers, including the two co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were arrested on charges of links to the PKK which they deny.
Thousands of officials from the HDP have been detained since 2015. Turkey detained 200 HDP members in December 2016.
The government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK, a charge that the HDP denies.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 against the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to push for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 79-million population.
A large Kurdish community in Turkey and worldwide openly sympathise with PKK rebels and Abdullah Ocalan, who founded the PKK group in 1974, and has a high symbolic value for most Kurds in Turkey and worldwide according to observers.