Turkey
Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), was arrested on April 2, 2021. File photo: Gergerlioglu Facebook
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish police on Friday detained Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), according to his son.
“They came to arrest my father,” Salih Gergerlioglu tweeted. According to Salih, his father was taken from his home in Ankara without being given the chance to put on shoes.
Gergerlioglu was taken to Ankara Police Headquarters.
The outspoken politician was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail in 2018 on charges of making propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in connection with a 2016 tweet about the how to peacefully end the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. A court in February upheld the sentence and Gergerlioglu was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last month. He was detained briefly for the case on March 21.
Gergerlioglu also shone a light on strip searches in prison.
This week, the Constitutional Court rejected a bid from Gergerlioglu to restore his parliamentary seat. The court said it lacked jurisdiction.
According to his son Salih, Gergerlioglu was taken to hospital after his arrest, with complaints of chest pains.
“They came to arrest my father,” Salih Gergerlioglu tweeted. According to Salih, his father was taken from his home in Ankara without being given the chance to put on shoes.
Gergerlioglu was taken to Ankara Police Headquarters.
The outspoken politician was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail in 2018 on charges of making propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in connection with a 2016 tweet about the how to peacefully end the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. A court in February upheld the sentence and Gergerlioglu was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last month. He was detained briefly for the case on March 21.
Gergerlioglu also shone a light on strip searches in prison.
This week, the Constitutional Court rejected a bid from Gergerlioglu to restore his parliamentary seat. The court said it lacked jurisdiction.
According to his son Salih, Gergerlioglu was taken to hospital after his arrest, with complaints of chest pains.
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