Prosecutors seek up to 15 years for HDP deputy

ANKARA

Prosecutors have filed an indictment against Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) deputy Semra Güzel, seeking a sentence of up to 15 years in prison for her on the charges of “membership of an armed terrorist organization.”

Stating that Güzel “adopted the PKK’s purpose and took place in the hierarchical structure of the organization,” the indictment seeks seven years, six months to 15 years in jail for the politician.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Sept. 2 that Güzel was arrested while travelling “with a fake passport” in northwestern Türkiye.

The parliament lifted Güzel’s immunity on March 1 in a bid to pave the way for a legal prosecution against her after her pictures with Volkan Bora, a PKK terrorist, emerged.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office called Güzel for testimony, but she did not appear before the prosecutor.

The arrest warrant was issued as she did not testify, it added. Güzel is accused of supporting terrorism and being a member of a terror organization. She rejects all these claims.

Bora was killed in an operation in April 2017 in the southeastern province of Mardin. As part of an investigation, security forces examined Bora’s cellular phone and found pictures taken in a PKK camp in northern Iraq, which showed Bora and Güzel together.

Güzel’s status as a lawmaker will be dropped if she is convicted of terrorism charges.

The HDP has long been accused by the government of having links with the PKK.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.