Prison sentence for Selçuk Mızraklı upheld: DEM Party reacts to the decision

The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation has upheld the 9-year, 4-month, and 15-day prison sentence given to Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, who was removed from his position as Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality after a trustee was appointed in his place.

The Central Executive Board of the DEM Party issued a written statement regarding the upholding of Mızraklı's prison sentence.

'THIS DECISION IS POLITICAL, NOT LEGAL'

In the statement made by the DEM Party, it was emphasized that the sentence given to Mızraklı was a political decision, not a legal one.

The statement included the following remarks: "The 9-year, 4-month, and 15-day prison sentence given to Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, who was elected by the will of the people of Diyarbakır on March 31, 2019, and removed from his post as Co-Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality by a trustee coup, has been upheld by the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. This decision is a political decision, not a legal one. This judicial coup is null and void in the eyes of the Kurdish people, especially the people of Diyarbakır, and the democratic public."

In the DEM Party's statement, it was noted that the judiciary serves the political operations of the ruling power, stating: "A relentless law of enmity is being applied to Kurds, their elected will, and dissidents through the judiciary, which acts as a spearhead for the government's political operations. With the unlawful sentence given to Mızraklı, who was elected by the votes of hundreds of thousands of citizens, the citizens' right to vote and be elected has been disregarded. Furthermore, popular sovereignty, which is the fundamental condition of democratic legitimacy, has been violated, specifically regarding the Kurds."

'WE CONDEMN THE DECISION'

In the continuation of the statement, it was pointed out that democratic politics is being attempted to be liquidated through judicial coups, and the following expressions were included:

"The effort to liquidate the field of democratic politics through judicial coups will never make us take a step back from our struggle. These coups are an exercise in futility. Throughout history, Kurdish politicians have been attempted to be silenced through unsolved murders, prisons, and many dirty methods, but they have never given up on their dignity and their struggle for peace and freedom. Despite these judicial coups, neither Mızraklı nor a single one of our imprisoned friends will ever bow their heads in the face of this order of oppression."