EMEP: This lawlessness will be tried in the public conscience

In its endeavour to create a political regime defined by a one-man state characterised by oppression, violence and prohibition, the AKP Government has been responsible for all sorts of lawlessness. Including the arrest of politicians, elected officials, journalists and defenders of human rights; the closure of newspapers, magazines, television channels and radio channels; and the prohibition of strikes and protests…

Our party member, media adviser and Evrensel Writer Yusuf Karataş has been arrested as part of the investigation into the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) in Diyarbakır. The allegations brought against Karataş are without basis.

The DTK which was formed in 2007 was at the time invited to various government meetings and was consulted in relation to the resolution of the Kurdish issue. At times local AKP MPs also attended the meetings of the DTK but today – a decade later – as a result of the current political climate it has become defined as an illegal organisation. It is within the context of these activities that our member Yusuf Karataş has been arrested and accused. The prosecutor includes Yusuf Karataş’s participation in the Mesopotamia Seasonal Agricultural Workers Assembly (which was formed to protect the rights of agricultural workers) as illegal activity. The prosecutor also refers to his participation in the protest against the Roboski Massacre as well as the protest on the Supreme Election Council’s decision to veto independent MP candidates.

The accusations brought against Yusuf Karataş are part of the farcical proceedings that have been taking place recently. It has become the norm for political cases to be brought which take no account of legal criteria. Yusuf Karataş and the many others who are being tried in the same proceedings have simply been caught in this net. However, the situation cannot continue like this. A system which is led by illegality and a judicial system that disregards all rules and proceedings cannot survive for long. Because tyranny cannot continue forever.

These proceedings too will be judged by history and are being tried in the conscience of the public.

We will not accept this illegal process against our party member Yusuf Karataş. We will continue to struggle against all illegality, arbitrary arrests and attempts to criminalise innocent people.

Selma GÜRKAN
General President