A court in the western province of İzmir on Monday accepted an indictment against the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), including Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ, on terror charges, which carry a sentence of up to five years in jail.
HDP deputies Erdal Ataş, Mizgin Irgat and Yüksekdağ were indicted as part of an investigation by the İzmir Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
The İzmir Public Prosecutor’s Office took legal action after receiving complaints about HDP lawmakers’ speeches during a panel discussion in İzmir in February.
The indictment said HDP deputies referred to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) actions as a “people’s struggle” and were thus included in the indictment on charges of “terrorism and propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Earlier this month, 13 HDP lawmakers were arrested pending trial on charges links to the PKK.