Politicians who danced to Kurdish songs during the “Great March for Freedom” organized by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Dersim on February 8, 2024, were sentenced to 10 months in prison each.
Five people who participated in the “Great March for Freedom” organized by the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Dersim on February 8, 2024, are standing trial for “making propaganda for an illegal organization”, meaning the PKK.
The final hearing of the case against the five defendants, former co-chairs of the provincial organization, Esma Ataş and Özcan Gürtaş, Birsen Orhan, the deposed mayor of Dersim, and Nazlı Öz Çelik and Özer Laçin, was held at the Tunceli 2nd Heavy Penal Court on Tuesday.
Repeating his opinion presented at the hearing on March 25, the prosecutor claimed that the songs “carried an explicit and imminent threat of disrupting social peace and public order by fostering feelings of hatred and hostility.” The prosecutor requested a prison sentence on charges of “illegal organization propaganda.”
The lawyers stated that the political party event was made the subject of the charges and requested their clients' acquittal. The lawyers reported that the translations of the songs “Berxwedan xweş doz e” and “Herne pêş,” which were the subject of the charges, were mistranslated by the security forces using Google Translate.
The lawyers also pointed out that the songs were anonymous and were performed at many events.
The court sentenced each of the five defendants to 10 months in prison and decided to defer the announcement of the verdict.
