Statement by HDP’s Co-spokespersons for Foreign Affairs Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy
Mr. Gergerlioğlu had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison by Kocaeli 2nd Heavy Penal Court for posting via Twitter a piece of news five years ago and the sentence was upheld by the Court of Cassation. On 17 March 2021, the court ruling against HDP deputy Mr Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was read out at the Parliament and he was stripped of his parliamentary mandate. Following this, Mr Gergerlioğlu was taken into custody from the parliament early in the morning on 21 March in a totally unlawful manner. While ugly scenes of his detention were still fresh in people’s memories, Mr Gergerlioğlu was arrested on 2 April again and sent to prison – again in a manner that violated human dignity.
On 1 July 2021, after having examined the individual application of Mr. Gergerlioğlu, the Constitutional Court did rule that Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu’s “right to be elected and to engage in political activities” and his “right to personal liberty and security” had been violated. This ruling was not sent to the local court immediately; it was rather sent after five days. Mr. Gergerlioğlu was released from the Sincan Prison in Ankara on July 6 with a five-day delay.
Although Mr. Gergerlioğlu was released by this ruling, it is still not clear whether his parliamentary membership will be restituted or not. Mr. Gergerlioğlu was stripped off his parliamentary mandate unlawfully, without waiting for the decision of the Constitutional Court. After the verdict of the Constitutional Court, Mr. Gergerlioğlu’s parliamentary
mandate should be restituted immediately.
In the words of Mr. Gergerlioğlu speaking after his release: “…my release is a harbinger of the freedom of our other friends. It is a harbinger of an end to the attacks targeting our party. May the people smile, I smile deep inside, my heart smiles.”