Besime Konca

Five lawmakers in the Turkish parliament are facing the risk of being stripped of their statuses as members of parliament in the new legislative year, set to kick off on Oct. 1.

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt deputy Besime Konca was released from prison on July 29 after the approval of her appeal against a 2.5-year prison sentence for disseminating terror propaganda.  The 2nd High Criminal Court in the southeastern province of Batman ordered Konca's release considering the five years she remained in custody.

Former co-leader of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yüksekdağ, who was stripped of her status in parliament in February 2017, has been given another prison sentence in two other cases this week.

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır issued an arrest warrant on May 30 for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şanlıurfa deputy and spokesperson Osman Baydemir on charges of "insulting public servants on account of their position," according to Doğan News Agency.

A court in the southeastern province of Batman on May 29 ordered the arrest of Kurdish-issue focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Siirt lawmaker Besime Konca on terror charges, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Earlier in the day, Konca was detained at Batman Airport following a prosecutor's detention warrant that came shortly after her release earlier this month.

Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed co-chair of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), will start a hunger strike on March 31 to protest "inhumane treatment," along with jailed HDP deputy Abdullah Zeydan.  

Last week, HDP Siirt deputy Besime Konca started a hunger strike in the Kandıra Prison. 

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Dec. 13 ordered the arrest of two deputies from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Ankara police detained two lawmakers from the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) as part of an anti-terror probe on Dec. 13. 

The HDP's Diyarbakır deputy and parliamentary group deputy chair, Çağlar Demirel, and its Siirt deputy, Besime Konca, were detained in relation to an ongoing probe in Diyarbakır and Batman. Konca was later released under judicial control. 

Police detained a woman accused of being a wanted outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant at Istanbul's main airport on Nov. 27, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.
Sara Aktaş was detained at Atatürk International Airport while seeking to travel to Germany, the agency said.

Subpoenas were issued for eight lawmakers from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) over the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) case in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Sept. 5. HDP group deputy chairman Çağlar Demirel was among the ones that a subpoena was issued for by the Diyarbakır Second Heavy Penal Court, Anadolu Agency reported.