88 KCK suspects appeal to Constitutional Court for their release

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Some 88 people, who have been tried under detention in the ongoing case into the outlawed Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), appealed to the Constitutional Court for their release, grounding their appeal on the recent release of five deputies upon a decision by the top court.

Hatip Dicle, who was elected in the 2011 general elections before being stripped of his deputyship, is among those applicants.

Suspects, including five mayors and eight members of the municipality, are under arrest for five years, said Diyarbakır Bar Association head Tahir Elçi at a press conference on Jan. 20.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy and journalist Mustafa Balbay, who was under arrest as part of the Ergenekon coup plot case, was released only after his individual application to the Constitutional Court on December 2013. This set an example for the remaining jailed deputies, apart from Engin Alan, whose sentence was earlier finalized by the Supreme Court of Appeals.