TURKEY/HDP: Kobanî Trial, on 7 and 9 February - Call for international solidarity actions and statements

Dear friends,

We hope this email finds you well.

Recently, we issued an call inviting parties, parliamentarians and political representatives to participate as observers in a crucial case concerning the future of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and democracy in Turkey, the so-called "Kabani case", which will be heard in Ankara from 7 to 9 February 2023. Many representatives from different countries will be observing the Kabani trial in Ankara.

We were asked by many of our friends who cannot travel to Ankara as observers what could be done alternatively. After many suggestions and related discussions, we came up with the idea of being able to draw attention to the Kobani Trial through a publicly effective and broad campaign on the first day of the hearing (7 February).

We would be very pleased if parties, groups, parliamentarians, politicians, international bodies, governments and government representatives stand against the criminalising and anti-democratic course and repression of the Erdogan regime against the HDP. And not only politicians, but also organisations/people from the fields of art, law, human rights, literature and universities are cordially invited. You can show your solidarity on 7 February from 10am (CET) through creative actions/statements/solidarity messages/videos and other creative ideas.

When the Kobani trial started on 26 April 2021, there was a high-profile action against the criminalisation of the HDP. On that day, there were strong international solidarity actions and clear statements by MPs, political parties and various organisations for the HDP and the resistance in Kobani, with which the HDP stood in solidarity at the time when Kobane was besieged by ISIS. We had published all these actions and statements on our homepage at that time. You can inspire them again on 7 February.

Please share your actions with us by using the following hashtags: #SolidarityWithHDP & #DefendKobani via our Twitter (@Hdp_europe) or email (Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.). We will ensure that these actions are covered in the media.Background information:
The HDP has been subject to systematic repression by the Erdogan regime since 2015. Although it has not yet been officially confirmed, elections are due to take place in Turkey on 14 May. However, the second strongest opposition party and third largest party in parliament continues to be subject to systematic repression by the Erdogan regime and is therefore also heavily criminalised. In addition to a politically engineered banning process that has been submitted to the judiciary, the Kobani trial has been underway since 26 April 2021 with the aim of criminalising the HDP. The HDP is thereby restricted in its right to politics. They want to take away the voters' right to vote. (For more information on the Kobani trial, please visit our website)P.S. Please spread this call to all your contacts and networks as widely as possible.

Many thanks in advance.Yours sincerely and in solidarity,Devriş Çimen
European Representative of the HDP in Europe

-- Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)Representation in Europe46, Rue d'Arlon1000-BruxellesOffice tel: +32 2 503 86 19E-Mail: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.Twitter: @HDP_EuropeWebsite: www.hdpeurope.eu