Court rules for retrial of HDP deputy due to rights violation

ANKARA

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Sebahat Tuncel, who was sentenced for being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), should be retried, as her right to a free and timely trial was violated, Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled. 

The court ruled on Feb. 27 that Tuncel’s file should be sent back to the related court to remove the violation and its results.

Tuncel was detained in Istanbul 2006 upon a notice that she was holding regular meetings with PKK members. She was also accused of going to a PKK camp in northern Iraq and meeting with the senior members of the organization in 2004. 

She was then released after she was elected as a deputy in the July 27, 2007 elections. 

However, an Istanbul high criminal court then ruled on a sentence of eight years and nine months for her in 2012, which was approved by the Court of Appeals. However, she remained free due to her immunity as a lawmaker. 

According to an internal rule within the HDP, Tuncel is not expected to run for a seat in the June 7 elections, as she has already been a deputy for three consecutive terms.