It was revealed that a new investigation has been opened against former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) politicians, at the request of Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor.
According to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA), the raid on their cell in prison that includes ex-Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, former Tunceli (Dersim) mayors Edibe Şahin, Nurhayat Altun and former HDP MPs Sebahat Tuncel, Gültan Kışanak, Gülser Yıldırım, Çağlar Demirel and Aysel Tuğluk is connected to a new investigation made by the Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, sent information of the case file upon the request of Ankara 16th High Criminal Court, in which the former HDP Co Chair, Yüksekdağ is being tried.
It was stated that a new investigation was opened but had a ‘confidentiality order’ stamped on the file. In the documents sent regarding the case, it was stated that the investigation was directed at “prison organisation” and Yüksekdağ was one of the ‘suspects’.
Ezgi Güngördü, the lawyer of Yüksekdağ, told Mesopotamia Agency (MA), that they have information about the investigation after their requests from the Ankara 16th High Criminal Court. Güngördü added “Following our requests, the Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that Yüksekdağ was a suspect but that the file was ‘confidential’.
“There is no information about which criminal charges have been initiated. Only the subject of the file is written. Even our client’s poems were confiscated as ‘organisational documents’. It is stated in the file that there is a confidentiality order, but neither we nor the defense authority were notified about our clients during the search. We have just been informed about the existence of such an investigation” she said
Güngördü stated that the file was not shown to them by the prosecutor on the grounds of a “confidentiality” clause despite the court decision, “In the Kobanê investigation launched against the HDP representatives, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office did not send a file to the court on the grounds that it was a” confidentiality “decision. The confidentiality order is not binding for the court. Not to send the investigation documents to the court is a crime.” Güngördü said,
“We will now hold the same legal discussions at the hearing to be held at the Ankara 16th High Criminal Court.” she concluded.
What happened?
A room in the prison of former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, former Tunceli (Dersim) Mayors Edibe Şahin, Nurhayat Altun, former HDP MPs Sebahat Tuncel, Gültan Kışanak, Gülser Yıldırım, Çağlar Demirel and Aysel Tuğluk in Kandıra No 1 F-Type Closed Prison On November 30 was searched.
Their notebooks, pens, case files and even literary works were confiscated by an order given by the prosecution. The lawyers filed an appeal against the “confidentiality” decision on 3 December 2020 covering the investigation in question.