A former MP of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for allegedly producing propaganda for the PKK. Güven has been in prison since December 2020. “As a woman, a Kurd, a mother, I have never said or done anything wrong.”
A former MP of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) long accused of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for allegedly making propaganda for the group.
Leyla Guven, a former outspoken HDP parliamentarian, was sentenced to 11 years and 7 months in prison after being tried by a court in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir for her suspected ties to the PKK.
In her defense Güven said, “I will continue to say everything I have said until today. As a woman, a Kurd, a mother, I have never said or done anything wrong. I will continue to say this whether I am in prison or outside. I believe that there will be positive developments in Turkey in the future. The Kurdish problem will be solved.”
The HDP condemned her sentencing and labeled it as the “latest step” of a “revenge campaign” by President Recep Tayyip Erodogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party.
Güven’s daughter Sabiha Temizkan, a journalist, said her mother was convicted just for speaking. “My mother Leyla Güven was given a prison sentence of 11 years, seven months due to speeches she made while she was a lawmaker. She is already serving a previous sentence of 22 years, three months. All of this is happening just for speaking,” tweeted Temizkan.
Guven, who was a representative for Hakkari province, was sentenced to six years and three months in September 2020, after being accused of affiliating with the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella group of a number of parties, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The court’s decision came after the politician already served time in prison, which she says was for the KCK case, the proceedings of which began in 2009.
Thousands of HDP members have been arrested in recent years for terror-related charges, including former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, as well as dozens of mayors.