A coalition of 193 intellectuals and artists issued a joint statement on Monday, expressing grave concerns over the Kobane trial, which is set to continue in Ankara’s 22nd Heavy Penal Court.
The trial implicates 108 politicians, including former co-leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş. The next hearing is scheduled for 4 September, with 18 of the accused currently in custody.
“Despite the violation decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), 18 people are still in pre-trial detention,” the intellectuals and artists noted in a written statement. This, they emphasised, violates “all constitutional rights, including the right to a fair trial, the right to engage in political activity and the right to freedom of expression”.
“As people of art and ideas, we are against this blatant unlawfulness,” they declared. Echoing this sentiment, they issued a call to action; “The attitudes that are taking our country away from law, peace, and democracy with giant steps should be urgently abandoned.”
The Kobane trial stems from protests that erupted between 6-8 October 2014 in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. These demonstrations were in response to the Turkish government’s perceived inaction during the ISIS siege on northern Syria’s Kurdish-populated Kobane. Subsequently, Turkish authorities accused the HDP of inciting the unrest, leading to a series of arrests.
Although the investigation began in 2014, formal charges were not laid until December 2020. The prosecution is pushing for multiple counts of aggravated life imprisonment for the accused, based on a range of 29 charges, including murder and disruption of national unity.
The trial has been widely criticised as a calculated move to stifle the HDP and the broader Kurdish political movement in Turkey. It is viewed as an extension of a larger campaign to silence opposition and link the HDP to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). A separate case, which could result in the HDP’s dissolution, is also pending before Turkey’s Constitutional Court.
Signatories of the statement include luminaries such as Orhan Pamuk, Elif Şafak, and İsmail Beşikçi. Their collective voice adds significant weight to the growing public discourse that questions the legitimacy and motivations behind this contentious trial.
