Former HDP lawmaker released from Turkish prison

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A former lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was released from a Turkish prison late on Tuesday following a ruling from the Constitutional Court which said his rights were violated.

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, who had been in Ankara's Sincan Prison for more than three months, was released five days after the Turkish Constitutional Court ruled that his "right to be elected and engage in political activities," as well as "the right to liberty and security" have been violated, saying he should be released.

In 2018, Gergerlioglu was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on charges of producing propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in connection with a 2016 tweet about how to peacefully end the decades-long conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state.

The decision was upheld by a higher court and he was stripped of his parliamentary membership in May. He was detained for a short period of time on March 21 and again on April 2.

HDP members gathered outside of the prison on Monday to protest his delayed release.

“What happened to me has happened to millions of people,” he said in a press conference held at the HDP headquarters in Ankara after his release.

“This is not our victory, but the victory of people,” he added.

“Our struggle for justice has paid off,” the HDP said on Tuesday, after the ruling to release him was sent to a local court. 

Emma Sinclair-Webb, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Europe and Central Asia Associate Director, welcomed Gergerlioglu’s release, saying he “belongs in parliament not prison.”

The HDP has been under pressure by the Turkish government for its alleged links to the PKK. Scores of its members and politicians have been arrested in recent years on terror charges. There is an ongoing trial for the closure of the party following the submission of an indictment which also seeks a political ban on hundreds of party members.