Police knock HDP MP Musa Piroğlu off wheelchair at protest against Kurdish politician Leyla Güven's arrest

Istanbul police on Dec. 22 attacked a group of demonstrators who wanted to read a press statement in protest of prominent Kurdish politician Leyla Güven's arrest. During the intervention, the police knocked HDP MP Musa Piroğlu off his wheelchair.

Tuesday December 22 2020 05:54 pm

Duvar English

Istanbul police on Dec. 22 attacked a group of demonstrators who wanted to make a speech in protest of the government's arrest of prominent Kurdish politician Leyla Güven.

During the intervention, the police knocked Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Musa Piroğlu off his wheelchair.

Dünyalar tatlısı bu insanın (vekil) yaşadığı şu rezil durumdan, sesini çıkarmayan ve anayasaya aykırı ama evet diyen tüm siyasiler sorumludur. Ve bizler de halk olarak sorumluyuz, sıcacık hayatlarımızı terk edemediğimiz, elimizi taşın altına koyamadığımız için. #MusaPiroğlu https://t.co/Rxris6aRDo
— S’y (@YRunnos) December 22, 2020

Güven was arrested late on Dec. 21 after she was handed 22 years and three months in prison in the case that she was accused of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and making its propaganda.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP)'s Istanbul provincial organization on Dec. 22 held a demonstration in the Fatih district in protest of Güven's arrest. Hundreds of people, including DBP co-chair Saliha Aydeniz and HDP MP Musa Piroğlu, attended the demonstration at the Aksaray Metro Square.

The police told the crowd that the Fatih governor's office had banned them from reading a press statement, to which the protestors said they were using their democratic rights.

Following a debate regarding the issue, the police attacked the demonstrators, telling them to disperse. While police officers were seen knocking Piroğlu off his wheelchair, several people, including HDP Istanbul provincial co-chairs Elif Bulut and Erdal Avcı, were detained.

Topics Turkey Leyla Güven HDP Musa Piroğlu