Detained Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag have made joint defences and said ‘only our people can interrogate us.’
11 HDP deputies including co-chairs Demirtas and Yuksekdag were detained in the early hours of the morning in house raids across Turkey and its Kurdish southeast.
The MPs were detained on terror charges with arrest warrants being issued by the Diyarbakir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for 15 deputies.
According to latest reports Selahattin Demirtas, Figen Yuksekdag, Leyla Birlik and Nursel Aydogan have been referred to court on grounds of being the members of a terrorist organisation with the prosecutor demanding they be arrested.
HDP Diyarbakir MP Ziya Pir has been released on condition of not leaving the country after questioning.
MP Idris Baluken, who was detained in Ankara, has been brought to his hometown Bingol for questioning while Abdullah Zeydan and Selma Irmak are being questioned at the Hakkari Court.
Gulser Yildirim and Sirri Sureyya Onder were reportedly brought to Diyarbakir by helicopter overnight and are due to appear in court. Onder who has a phobia of flying was forced on the helicopter.
There are no updates about the situations of Mehmet Ali Aslan and Ferhat Encu.
Turkish PM Binali Yildirim has called the detainments, ”A completely judicial process.”
The HDP received more than 5 million votes on 1 November 2015 to become the 3rd largest party in Turkey’s parliament.
Meanwhile people have begun gathering in front of HDP offices across the country. Demonstrations were also held across European cities and are expected to continue.
Source: ANF
