Kurd shouting "Bijî Serok Apo" at demo acquitted by German court

The Kassel Administrative Court acquitted a Kurd who was on trial for shouting the slogan “Bijî Serok Apo" ("Long Live President Apo") during a demonstration on the anniversary of the February 15 conspiracy.

An investigation was launched against a Kurdish activist who shouted "Bijî Serok Apo" (Long Live President Apo") during a demonstration in Kassel.

The demo had been organised to mark the 20th anniversary of the February 15 conspiracy resulting in the kidnapping of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan in Kenya and his delivery to the Turkish state. .

The prosecutor stated that the activist, whose name was not disclosed, was seeing in videos of the peaceful demonstration (joined by some 700 people) shouting slogans in favour of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The indictment prepared by the Prosecutor's Office stated that the PKK, which is banned in Germany, was being supported with the slogan “Bijî Serok Apo" and that this constituted an act of propaganda. 

However, at the first hearing of the trial, the tribunal found that the prosecutor and police had opened a case on inconsistent ground and added that the slogan “Bijî Serok Apo” was not a crime.

The court ruled that the activist had shouted the slogan "Bijî Serok Apo" within the framework of the principles of freedom of opinion, and that this was not a crime.

The court also ruled that the State had to pay the costs of the case.

Last June, Berlin Administrative Court acquitted a Kurdish activist on trial for shouting "Bijî Serok Apo". The activist shouted this slogan to protest against the massacre carried out by the Turkish state on 15 August 2018 when Zeki Şengali, a member of the KCK Executive Council and a member of the Yazidi Community Coordination was murdered. Berlin police attacked the demonstration, using the slogan "Bijî Serok Apo" as a pretext to do so.