Turkish court refuses to hear expelled pro-Kurdish MP’s appeal

Gergerlioglu now plans to file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights after Constitutional Court’s decision.

Turkey’s top court has refused to hear an appeal by a leading pro-Kurdish politician against his expulsion from parliament over “terrorism” charges linked to a social media post. Parliament this month stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of his seat after he was convicted of “spreading terrorism propaganda” on social media. The offending post, which could see him jailed for two and a half years, featured an article in which outlawed Kurdish fighters who have been waging a deadly decades-long rebellion in Turkey called on the government to take steps towards peace.