HDP lawmaker faces up to 23 years in prison

By Aziz Aslan

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A Diyarbakir deputy of Turkey's opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Imam Tascier, faces up to 23 years in prison over terror charges.

Criminal charges established by Diyarbakir prosecutors -- amounting to up to 23 years in jail -- have been accepted Friday by the eighth high criminal court, according to judicial sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Among the charges the HDP lawmaker faces is the alleged offense of spreading terrorist propaganda in relation to comments made on Sept. 13, 2015, after the government declared a curfew in Diyarbakir’s Sur district, in eastern Turkey.

Tascier urged residents to take to the streets and protest the curfew and security operations.

The lawmaker Tascier is charged with “committing crimes in the name of a terrorist organization regardless of not being a member”, “canvassing for a terrorist organization” and “participating in illegal meetings and marches”.

Tascier’s arrest was made possible after certain lawmakers’ parliamentary immunity was lifted earlier this year.

Tascier, who was arrested on Nov. 4 in a terror investigation, was released under judicial control.