The Democratic Alevi Federation (FEDA) responded with a written statement to the arrest of DTK co-chair and Hakkari Deputy Leyla Güven who received 22 years and 3 months sentence in prison. The statement said; "The decision seeks to intimidate social opposition, especially the Kurdish people and women. It means suppressing the dynamics of society, breaking the will and cowing society into submission. For this reason, this decision is null and void according to us, the oppressed, peoples and faiths.”

The statement further said: “Leyla Güven is a pro-peace politician who has devoted her life to the struggle of women, the oppressed and the Kurdish people, just like the truth in the historicity of the Alevi faith. Leyla is a ‘Can’ (Soul) who has paid a great price during her political struggle and who has the practice of dedicating her life to reject injustice and unlawfulness. The monist, denialist and murderous mentality has never been able to restrain her from her struggle. The attacks of the AKP-MHP fascist government have not managed to make Leyla Güven take a step back in her struggle for rights, justice, freedom and peace.

The AKP-MHP government, which is hostile to democracy, Alevis, Kurds, women, laborers and nature, starts to attack when it has no stories to market to our peoples other than violence. Turkey is persecuting the people and democratic forces through a one-man dictatorship which has eliminated the constitution politics. The way out of the persecution cannot be found by allying with those who murder peoples and beliefs for the real interests of power and state.

"WE MUST STAND BY THE OPPRESSED"

If the CHP respected us, the oppressed people and the Alevis, who were commemorating the Maraş, Prison and Roboski massacres, it would not have visited the bearers of this genocidal mindset. We, Alevis, who have been persecuted by the denialist and murderous mentality for centuries, should object, and we should fight for our rights together with the oppressed and the victims. In accordance with our motto "Seventy-Two Nations are the same to us", we must stand by the oppressed, regardless of their colour, language or identity because the truth of our path tells this. As DTK co-chair Leyla Güven said, “This country is ours. It is time to say ‘We will defeat your oppression by doing democratic politics wherever we are inside or outside.”