Turkish prosecutor launches probe against Kurdish MP for army criticism

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Ankara prosecutor on Saturday placed a Kurdish member of Turkey’s parliament under investigation over his remarks suggesting that the Turkish armed forces were involved in crimes committed against Kurds in the 1990s. 

Sezgin Tanrikulu, Diyarbakir MP of the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), in a televised interview on Friday night said that investigations by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) showed atrocities committed against Kurdish civilians at the hands of the Turkish army. He went on to accuse the armed forces of throwing Kurdish villagers off helicopters and bombarding villages decades ago. 

“Not everything the Turkish armed forces do is free from criticism, we are MPs and we have to question these [incidents],” he said.

Turkish state media reported on Saturday night that the chief prosecutor’s office of Ankara launched an investigation against the Kurdish MP for “insulting the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey, and state institutions and bodies” and “inciting hatred and enmity.”

Tanrikulu reacted to the decision to investigate on X (formerly known as Twitter), slamming the prosecutor for coming after him on a weekend when “they need to be after gangs, drug smugglers and fraudsters.”

“The facts of the past cannot be bent or changed according to Today’s political positions,” Tanrikulu said, and attached snippets from ECHR decisions that condemn the Turkish armed forces of abducting 11 villagers near Diyarbakir in 1993 and Turkish warplanes bombarding Kuskonar and Kocagilli villages near Sirnak province in 1994, killing 33 people, which then Turkish courts blamed it on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey’s defense ministry reacted to Tanrikulu’s “unacceptable” comments in a statement on Saturday, saying that the army's activities are performed in a “transparent way and in compliance with international law.”

The CHP, which Tanrikulu is a part of, has distanced itself from his statements. Faik Oztrak, party spokesperson, stated on X that the MP's remarks accusing the Turkish armed forces were unacceptable.

"Our authorized bodies will discuss the matter," he added.

Nahit Eren, head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association expressed his support for Tanrikulu on X, saying it was “well-known” that “serious crimes involving human rights violations” were committed in the 1990s.

“When a Kurd and human rights defender reminds us of this, first a lynching campaign starts, then an investigation,” he said, concluding his post with “Sezgin Tanrikulu is not alone”.

Sezgin Tanrikulu is a Kurdish MP from the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed in Kurdish). He has been serving as a member of the Turkish parliament since 2011 and is known for his advocacy for the rights of minorities, prisoners, and press freedom within Turkey.

If he is indicted, Tanrikulu could be sentenced to 12 months up to three years in prison under the Turkish penal code. However, he currently has parliamentary immunity, which must be lifted by the Turkish parliament before he can be tried.