HDP MP Gergerlioğlu files objection against int'l travel ban, seizure of passport

Duvar English

Opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu has filed an objection against a previous court ruling that banned him from leaving the country and seized his passport as part of an investigation launched against him. 

The objection filed to an Ankara criminal court by Gergerlioğlu's lawyer, Bişar Alinak, said: "The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation against my client with the file numbered 2019/178402. Again, in the aforementioned investigation file, a judicial control measure was implemented against my client, banning him from going abroad.”

"The client was prevented from meeting with his voters abroad as a parliamentarian. In other words, the freedom to engage in politics has been taken away from him," the objection said.

The objection emphasized that due to the confidentiality decision in the file, Gergerlioğlu could not obtain information with regards to the so-called evidence charging him.

Gergerlioğlu's lawyer also filed a criminal complaint with the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) against the prosecutor and judge who ruled the decision.

Gergerlioğlu was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and imprisoned in May 2021 for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda.” The charges stemmed from Gergerlioğlu’s retweeting a T24 article about the collapse of the Kurdish peace process in 2015 and the subsequent onset of violence in the region. Gergerlioğlu spent three months behind bars before being released in July 2021.

Turkey's parliament in July 2021 reinstated Gergerlioğlu's parliamentary status after the Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled that his rights were violated.