On 16 May, a court in Ankara reached a final decision in the eight year long Kobane Conspiracy Trial. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ received 42 years and 32 years, nine months respectively.
The conspiracy case arose from the events of 6-8 October 2014, where people rose up all over southeast Turkey over Turkey’s supportive stance to the ISIS siege of the city of Kobane in northern Syria. Tensions on the streets, and clashes with the police and fascist groups led to deaths. The majority of those killed were HDP supporters. However, the state, motivated by destroying its political opponents, launched an overarching conspiracy trial against HDP members. Parliamentary immunity was stripped from MPs in 2016 to allow for the prosecution of 108 HDP politicians for charges including encouraging the uprisings, and being members of a ‘terrorist organisation’. The Kobane Conspiracy Case has been widely criticised as an attack on democracy in Turkey. Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ’s imprisonment has previously been the subject of legal rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, and criticism by the European parliament.
The words of Hugh Williamson, of US based NGO Human Rights Watch, were reported by the Times of India and many other media outlets. According to Williamson: “The conviction of Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, and other leading Kurdish opposition politicians in a mass trial is the latest move in a campaign of persecution that has robbed mainly Kurdish voters of their chosen representatives, undermined the democratic process, and criminalized lawful political speech.” He continued, saying, “Using bogus criminal proceedings to remove democratically elected Kurdish politicians from political life will do nothing to end the Turkish state’s decades-long conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).”
Human rights advocacy group Stockholm Centre for Freedom focused on the political nature of the charges. The organisation wrote: “The ongoing detentions of Kurdish politicians have drawn significant attention and criticism from both local and international observers who argue that the charges against them are politically motivated and part of an ongoing government crackdown on Kurds.
“Before the hearing, there was speculation that the government’s attitude towards political prisoners could change for the better and lead to the release of figures such as Demirtaş and imprisoned philanthropist Osman Kavala, which did not materialize with the court deciding to hand down long sentences”, the NGO wrote.
Many media outlets focused on the importance of Demirtaş in Turkish politics. Radio France Internationale (RFI) led with a detailed and sympathetic biography of Demirtaş, who they called Erdoğan’s Kurdish nemesis. Tagesschau, Germany’s biggest media portal, called Demirtaş a charismatic “beacon of hope for the Kurdish opposition”. Die Welte described him as “influential”.
The Reuters press agency reported on the defence lawyers’ protest in the courtroom. Lawyers disrupted the reading of the verdict, banging on tables and chanting “long live the resistance of the HDP” and “long live the prison resistance” in Kurdish.
In the Middle East, Arab News quoted the defiant statements by the DEM Party, while Al Monitor described “a barrage of angry reactions” against Erdoğan.
The US state’s Voice of America news agency quoted the words of convicted HDP member Ahmet Türk, who told media:
“We know that the Kobanê case has nothing to do with the law and is entirely a political decision that aims to prioritize democratic politics, a free and democratic life.”
