An operation was launced agianst the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) in several cities on February 18. 60 arrest warrants were issued for 60 people and 54 people, including journalists, artists, trade unionists, lawyers and represantatives of various political parties and organizations, were detained. It is learned that the investigation initiated by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is based on the Tekirdağ based investigation against HDK in 2022, in which 26 people were detained. According to the information gathered, within the scope of the Tekirdağ-based investigation, 6 thousand people whose names were mentioned in digital materials such as members, delegates, event invitees and phone lists seized during the raid on HDK have been under investigation for 2 years. 

 

PROSECUTOR CHANGED, COURSE OF THE FILE CHANGED

 

While it was expected that the prosecutor of the case would issue a decision of non-prosecution after the completion of this examination, on the grounds that "being a member, delegate, participating in the activities of the Democratich Society Congress (DTK), making presentations at events" alone would not constitute the crime of "terrorist organization membership", the course of the case changed with the change of the prosecutor. It is learned that the first prosecutor told the lawyers of the case that “only the activities of the HDK were charged and that they would issue a decision of non-prosecution if there were no other charges or allegations against the individuals”. However, the course of the case changed with the appointment of Akın Gürlek as Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor. With this change, the file was shifted to the DTK investigations and based on the Supreme Court of Appeals' decision on Aysel Tuğluk. The investigation file points to the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation's ruling that the DTK is a “terrorist organization” and argues that the HDK is the continuation of the DTK. 

 

In 2022, 36 people from different cities were detained and arrested as part of a Tekirdağ-based investigation against HDK. Within the same investigation, the police raided HDK's headquarters in Beyoğlu, Istanbul and seized digital materials. In the digital materials seized in 2022, an excel spreadsheet containing the names of those who participated in the HDK's work and activities such as general assemblies, meetings, conferences, etc. is at the center of the current investigation. Tekirdağ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office sent the file to Ankara for an investigation into the names found in the digital materials. The Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office sent the file to Istanbul on the grounds of “lack of jurisdiction”. The registration date in Istanbul for this file, in which 54 people are currently in custody, is May 7, 2024.

 

6 THOUSAND PEOPLE ARE NAMED

 

According to information received from lawyers within the scope of the file, in which all public activities of the HDK are attempted to be “illegalized”, the names of 1,600 people based only in Istanbul are mentioned, while the names of approximately 6,000 people across Turkey are included. 

 

According to the lawyers, the file is considered as a “wild card” file in this period when the society is expecting peace as a result of the recent talks with İmralı and the HDK's efforts to socialize peace are intensifying. 

 

On the other hand, the testimonies of 20 of the 54 people detained in the case have been completed at Istanbul Security Directorate, while the testimonies of the remaining 34 people are expected to be completed today. With the testimonies, some details about the investigation were also revealed. Those who were interrogated were asked questions about the HDK. They were asked about the activities of the HDK, whether they participated in various actions and events of the HDK such as conferences, meetings, general assemblies, and if so, for what purpose, and how the HDK's income was met, all public activities of the HDK were illegalized. 

 

MA / Diren Yurtsever