Evin İncir, a member of the European Parliament, participated as an observer in the Kobanê trial in which 108 people stand trial, including Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.

Speaking to ANF about her observations, İncir said, "Many representatives of political parties from countries such as Spain, Italy and France observed the hearing. There were also representatives of European Union (EU) member states such as Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Greece who followed the case."

İncir stated that the international laws and domestic laws were not executed during the trial. Recalling that the lawyers protested the court, which denied the demands of the defense and attendance of HDP MPs, Incir criticised the court's attitude, saying, "The president of the court took sides. He prevented the speeches of the defendants and lawyers."

MEP İncir continued, "The court president argued that there was no place for more lawyers in the courtroom. HDP's lawyers discussed this situation and criticised the court, pointing to the large number of soldiers and police in the hall. While the lawyers who defend the defendants are not allowed into the courtroom, it is unacceptable to have a large number of police officers at the hearings."

HDP CO-CHAIR TO PARTICIPATE IN MEETING AT EP ON 12 MAY

İncir said that they invited one of the HDP co-chairs to the EP group meeting on May 12 and that the invited co-chair would talk about the recent developments in Turkey in the meeting which will be attended by social democrats.

İncir emphasized that Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government have to respect human and organization rights, adding that while she was in Turkey, Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention was discussed at the EP.

ERDOĞAN'S SEXISM AGAINST WOMEN

İncir remarked that EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey was met with reaction when Leyen was not offered an equal seat. "It is not a coincidence that he withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, which aims to stop violence against women, while doing this," she added.

"As the social democratic group of the European Union, we made a statement condemning Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. We demanded the annulment of Turkey's decision to withdraw from the convention," İncir noted.

"I am angry at the silence of the international community in the face of all this. If we had showed the courage speak out against Erdogan, we might not have seen the negative developments we are encountering now. Therefore, there is much the United Nations and the European Union can do. The United States should also show reaction. There has been a lack of concrete attitudes towards Turkey," İncir concluded.