ANKARA, Turkey: The European Union on Thursday criticized Turkish authorities for stripping a prominent pro-Kurdish legislator of his parliamentary seat and seeking to shut down his political party, saying these moves add to concerns over the “backsliding of rights” in Turkey.
Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a human rights advocate and lawmaker from the People’s Democratic Party, or HDP, was expelled from parliament on Wednesday after an appeals court upheld his conviction on terrorist propaganda charges over a social media posting. Gergerlioglu says the case against him was politically motivated, and argues that he was unjustly stripped of his seat in parliament before Turkey’s highest court reviews his case.
Hours later, a top prosecutor filed a lawsuit with Turkey’s Constitutional Court seeking to disband the HDP for alleged ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and to bar more than 600 of its members from politics for five years.
The moves in parliament and by the prosecutor were the latest in a years-long crackdown on the second-largest opposition party in parliament. Dozens of elected HDP lawmakers and mayors — including former co-chair Selahattin Demirtas — as well as thousands of party members have been arrested on terror-related accusations.
“Closing the second largest opposition party would violate the rights of millions of voters in Turkey,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell and Oliver Varhelyi, the EU enlargement commissioner said in a joint statement. “It adds to the EU’s concerns regarding the backsliding in fundamental rights in Turkey and undermines the credibility of the Turkish authorities’ stated commitment to reforms.”
The United States also spoke out against the steps taken against Gergerlioglu and his party, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying efforts to dissolve the HDP “would unduly subvert the will of Turkish voters, further undermine democracy in Turkey, and deny millions of Turkish citizens their chosen representation.”
A senior Turkish official however, called for respect for Turkey’s judiciary and insisted the HDP has “organic ties to the PKK.”
“HDP’s senior leader and spokespeople, through their words and deeds, have repeated and consistently proved that they are the PKK’s political wing,” said Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director, on Twitter.
The PKK is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the EU and the US
EU slams Turkish moves against Kurdish party, legislator
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EU slams Turkish moves against Kurdish party, legislator
- Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu was expelled from parliament after an appeals court upheld his conviction on terrorist propaganda charges over a social media post
- Gergerlioglu, a human rights advocate and lawmaker from the HDP party, said the case against him was politically motivated and that he was unjustly stripped of his seat
Elderly Palestinian shot dead in Rafah
- Death toll from Israel’s aggression on Gaza rises to 71,795 since start of assault in October 2023
GAZA: An elderly Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire in Rafah on Sunday afternoon, bringing the number of fatalities since morning to two, according to local and medical sources.
The sources reported that Khaled Hammad Dahleez, 63, was shot dead by an Israeli drone northwest of Rafah.
Earlier in the day, another man was killed and several others injured in a drone strike north of Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian News Agency reported.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the war-ravaged enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, the number of people killed has risen to 523, with 1,433 injuries recorded, while 715 bodies have been recovered during the same period.
Medical sources said on Sunday the death toll from Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 71,795 Palestinians killed and 171,551 injured since the start of the assault in October 2023.
The sources reported that 26 fatalities and 68 injuries were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 48 hours, noting that numerous victims were trapped under rubble or in the streets, with ambulance and rescue crews unable to reach them.
The ceasefire’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.
The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.
Hamas has so far rejected disarmament and Israel has repeatedly indicated that if the Islamist militant group is not disarmed peacefully, it will use force to make it do so.
