Pro-Kurdish Party Condemns Legal Pressure

Chair of the Commission of Law at the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), lawyer Hasip Kaplan revealed a letter they've sent to the government and jurisprudence officials which claimed that "the party members are under pressure which scrutinize their freedom of expression".

Referring to recent prosecutions and arrests directed at DTP members and administrators, Kaplan urged state officials to intervene and secure the constitutional rights of their adherents.

"Such practices come at a point where the demands for a peaceful and democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue are rising. The judiciary and the politicians don't have the right to remain silent faced with this situation".

Kaplan has sent the letter to the Prime Minister, to the head of Supreme Court of Appeals, chief public prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Turkish Bar Association as well as Ministers of Justice and Interior and political party leaders.

Some ascertainments featured on the letter are as follows:

* Some expression of thoughts are considered as "appraisal of crime and/or criminals" or "promoting the public to crime" by the judiciary.

* Public prosecutors issue "search/tracking warrants" for party administrators who can be easily invited for testifying.

* Houses of administrators are raided; personal rights of family members are violated. Party offices are raided by security forces. All such practices are conducted by hundreds of police officers, with the use of excessive force; unlawful arrests are made regarding prosecutions, which foresee less than a year of imprisonment if convicted.

* DTP branches are under siege following the decision to enter the elections with independent candidates during the first party congress. (TK/EÜ)