Parliament speaker deems HDP MP's question on Kurdish 'inadmissible'

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Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop rejected a parliamentary inquiry from pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu about whether imprisoned MP Leyla Güven would be accused of terrorism for performing a traditional dance to a Kurdish song in prison, news portal Artı Gerçek reported on Sep. 15. 

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Leyla Güven was the subject of disciplinary action in eastern Turkey's Elazığ Prison for singing a traditional Kurdish song and performing a dance alongside it with other inmates. 

"If dancing to a Kurdish song is forbidden, then is leading the dance considered leadership of a terrorist organization?" HDP deputy Gergerlioğlu asked the parliamentary speaker.

Şentop rejected the deputy's inquiry on the grounds that it fell under the "topics not to be asked about" in the parliamentary regulation, more specifically that the speaker's office would reject any questions where the sole purpose is consultation.

Noting that many people in Turkey are prosecuted for the traditional dance in question, Gergerlioğlu protested the speaker's rejection for being arbitrary. 

"Leyla Güven has already been punished for singing in Kurdish. She will be banned from speaking with her daughter because of this investigation," Gergerlioğlu said. 

Gergerlioğlu's inquiry asked the allegations for the investigation into Güven and the eight women she sang with, following up with which languages are allowed for song and dance in correctional facilities. 

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