According to Istanbul police and her lawyer, a Turkish court has ordered the pre-trial detention of a pro-Kurdish member of parliament on a terrorism charge, while her party has called the detention illegitimate and unethical.
Semra Guzel, a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) member, had her parliamentary immunity lifted in March after photos of her with a militant from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) surfaced in Turkish media. Following that, an arrest warrant was issued on the basis of membership in a terrorist organization.
Guzel was detained in Istanbul on Friday, and a court ruled late Saturday to imprison her pending trial, according to Istanbul police.
Guzel’s lawyer, Veysi Eski, said the charge against him was unfounded and that it was part of a “political genocide operation” against the HDP.
“A person visiting an acquaintance in the organization (PKK) camp does not constitute the crime of membership in (a terrorist) organization,” Eski told Reuters.
Suleyman Soylu, the Interior Minister, announced Guzel’s arrest on Friday, saying he had been “busted.”
“Our member of parliament has been detained in an unethical manner; the government’s use of inappropriate and ugly language in propaganda material demonstrates the ruling party’s helplessness,” the HDP said in a statement before the court ruling.
The AK Party of President Tayyip Erdogan and its nationalist allies frequently accuse the HDP of being the PKK’s political wing. Thousands of HDP members have been tried on similar charges in recent years. The party denies any involvement with terrorism.
Guzel said the person in the photos was her fiance, and the photos were taken when she visited him during a peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK that broke down in 2015.
Guzel claimed that the investigation against her, which was based on evidence discovered after the militant’s death in 2017, was not launched until she became a member of parliament a year later.
According to critics, Turkish courts bend to Erdogan’s and his party’s will. This is denied by the government.
In 1984, the PKK declared an insurgency against the Turkish state. Turkey, the United States, and the European Union all consider it a terrorist organization.
