HDP’s Şanlıurfa and Hakkari lawmakers stripped of deputy status
Two Turkish members of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were stripped of their deputy status on Thursday.
Şanlıurfa parliamentarian Osman Baydemir and Hakkari parliamentarian Selma Irmak brought the total number of HDP lawmakers stripped of their seats to 11.
Irmak received a 10 year prison sentence for being a member of "an armed terror group" and "spreading terror propaganda." Baydemir received a prison sentence of nearly 1.5 years for verbally assaulting a police officer.
Many other HDP lawmakers have been remanded for terror-related charges.
Turkey’s government says the HDP is linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
In PKK's over three-decade terror campaign against Turkey, more than 40,000 people have lost their lives.
Since the PKK resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, it has been responsible for the deaths of around 1,200 people, including women and children.
The HDP deputies who have lost seats in Turkish parliament are Figen Yüksekdağ, Nursel Aydoğan, Faysal Sarıyıldız, Tuğba Hezer Öztürk, Besime Konca, Leyla Zana, Fethat Encü, İbrahim Ayhan, Ahmet Yıldırım, Osman Baydemir and Selma Irmak.
