DEM Party co-chairs Tuncer Bakirhan and Tulay Hatimoglullari visited Figen Yuksekdag, Gultan Kisanak, Semira Guzel, and Nurhayat Altun at Kandira prison in Kocali province on Thursday, the party announced on Friday.
These four women, former co-chairs, mayors, and lawmakers, are affiliated with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the sister party of the DEM Party.
“Our colleagues stated that they continue to resist with great strength and hope and that they greet all the people of Turkey,” read a DEM Party statement.
The two co-chairs also visited former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas and Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, expelled HDP mayor of Diyarbakir (Amed), who are both held in Edirne prison.
Scores of HDP party members have been in jail for years, with some like Demirtas serving more than seven years in jail. They have all been accused of having links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Co-chairs Bakirhan and Hatimoglullari said that during their meeting with the four jailed female politicians they “exchanged views on the latest developments in the region and Turkey.” They also received the “valuable views and suggestions” from their jailed colleagues about upcoming March local elections that are very important for the pro-Kurdish party, which did not perform well in the general poll last May.
“We held consultations with Demirtas and Mizrakli to further strengthen the social opposition, which is being prevented by all kinds of pressure, conspiracy cases and closure cases,” Bakirhan and Hatimoglullari said.
“We exchanged ideas about the steps to be taken to solve Turkey's historical and political problems, especially the Kurdish problem, the ongoing hunger strikes in prisons, and the strategies we will follow regarding local elections,” the newly-elected co-chairs noted.
Demirtas’ father recently passed away, but he refused to submit a request to authorities for permission to attend the funeral. He has been presenting his lengthy defense via teleconference against charges related to 2014 Kobane protests.
In October 2014, during the Islamic State (ISIS) attack on the city of Kobane in northeastern Syria (Rojava), the HDP called for street protests urging the Turkish government to open a corridor for aid to reach the besieged Kurdish city across the border. The protests escalated into violence, resulting in the tragic loss of 51 lives and leaving hundreds more injured.
Turkish authorities, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have blamed HDP and Demirtas for triggering the violence.
Over the past decade, Turkish authorities have detained and imprisoned thousands of members, officials, and lawmakers affiliated with the HDP on terror-related charges.
The DEM Party, previously named HEDEP, originated from the HDP. In the latest general election in May, the HDP strategically presented candidates under the banner of the newly formed Green Left Party to counter the imminent threat of closure. In October, the Green Left Party underwent a name change, adopting the designation HEDEP, and later changing to the DEM Party.
