Turkey jails Kurdish teacher with baby on terror charge

Rudaw ^ | 4-21-18 | Rudaw

[Texas Fossil]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish authorities have jailed a Kurdish teacher for her condemnation of the killing of civilians during anti-PKK operations in 2016. The teacher gave birth recently and will go to prison with her baby.

“Do not stay silent… Do not let human beings and children die, and do not let mothers cry,” Ayse Celik said on-air during a phone-in show on Turkey’s Kanal D TV station in January 2016.

She was reacting to military operations in her hometown of Diyarbakir and criticized Turkish media for their coverage of the events. “What is happening here is shown on screens very differently,” she said.

Diyarbakir saw months of intense fighting and street clashes between the Turkish army and members of the PKK after the decades-long conflict resumed in 2015. 

At least 439 civilians have been killed in the clashes since July 2015, according to the International Crisis Group. 

Celik also called on teachers who had fled the city to return because of a shortage of educators. 

“How can they return there? How can they look inside the eyes of beautiful, clean, and innocent children? I really cannot speak,” she appealed.

Authorities began an investigation after the show and Celik was arrested on the charge of “propagating for a terror organization.”

She was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison in April 2017, but was granted a delay because she was pregnant at the time. 

Celik began serving her sentence on Friday with her baby daughter after her lawyer’s request for a ten-day delay was turned down by the court. 

Her lawyer, Mahsuni Karaman, told reporters that he did not expect his client would be granted another postponement of her sentence, according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Lawmakers from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) accompanied her to prison Friday.

“I am calling on the head and member of the Constitutional Court – you have to order an end to the carrying out [the sentence of] Ayse the teacher and her six-month-old baby so that they will not be victims of injustice,” CHP deputy leader Muharrem Erkek said, Hurriyet reported. 

HDP said that public support for the teacher is strong. 

“Millions are with Ayse the teacher who has said ‘Do not let children die’! We will continue fighting for punishment of warlords and not the peacemakers. Those days are not far!” the party tweeted on Friday. 

Turkey will hold a snap general election on June 24.

Hundreds of children are reportedly being held in Turkey’s prisons with their mothers under inadequate conditions.

The situation “may constitute ill-treatment,” the United Nations’ human rights commissioner stated in a recent report on the impact of Turkey’s prolonged state of emergency. 

“Mothers and children exposed to such practices face serious risks of health complications, stunting and even death. Their situation may amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the commissioner wrote, adding that non-custodial arrangements should be the preferred choice and children in prison should be in conditions as close as possible to the outside.

[Texas Fossil]

There is a good photo of the teacher and baby entering prison at the article link.

It has been reported many times on Twitter with more photos:

Carolyn Pierce‏ @cfpierce

https://twitter.com/cfpierce/status/987929509163945985

Ayse Celik, a teacher living in the city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey & her 6month old baby begin their 15month jail sentence. She was convicted of “terrorist propaganda” for saying, “don't let children die,” on a popular talk show. #ErdoganTerrorist #TurkeyNoFreeSpeech

Other Twitter links:

https://twitter.com/AylinaKilic/status/987402935716868096

(video on this one)

https://twitter.com/cngzkync/status/987753242267275265

This statement is worth noting:

Lawmakers from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) accompanied her to prison Friday.

The HDP is a pro Kurdish Party (not all Kurds) and the CHP is the Kemalist Party. It is unusual for them to both be involved in anything like this. Remember there is a Flash election called for June 24th.

[vooch]

Texas,

you support Marxist - Lenninist terror groups ?

[Jacob Kell]

TF doesn’t “support Marxist-Leninist terror groups”, by which I presume you meant the damn PKK. This was about a woman who was basically sent to prison for criticizing the Turkish government. Do you support a Islamic fundamentalist semi dictatorship?

[Texas Fossil]

The site I posted from are YPG/YPJ supporters.

I’ve found them very honest over the past few years.

I know about PKK. Have mixed feelings about them. I am not Leftist.

Turkey is a total dictatorship and has always practiced ethnic cleansing, massacre and genocide. You can blame that on whoever you want. It is reality.

Right now Turkey is aligned with ISIS and al Qaeda (Nusra). And the displaced Sunni Jihadi’s from near Damascus.

And they have made “deals” with Russia, Iran and Assad.

Can he come back to the NATO fold? I doubt Erdogan can or will, but without him, Turkey might.

EU has told Turkey they will not pay for support of Refugees in Afrin Syria. And now he is not paying the Jihadi’s? smile.

Then the Turkish Lira seems to have crashed.

We will see if Qatar is still behind him.

[Jacob Kell]

Refugees in AFrin? You mean the Chinese Uyghurs settled there?

[Texas Fossil]

Sorry, I should have looked closer at the header I was responding to.

Rudaw is more a Barzani supporter than YPG/YPJ.

Erbil has mixed relations with those in the mountains.

They support Kurds, PKK has fought in Iraq along side the Pesh.

But perspective of abuse within Turkey is the same among most Kurds. There is no justification of such human treatment.

The Teacher made NO political statement. Only and antiwar anti human cruelty statement, over the phone into a call-in situation.

[Texas Fossil]

“Refugees in AFrin? You mean the Chinese Uyghurs settled there?”

No, it is other Sunni anti-Assad fighters in region near Damascus. Some imported Uyghurs are in Afrin, but the majority are imported by bus from near Damascus. From the area where Assad was accused of using poison gas.

[vooch]

Sounds like you support Marxist - Lenninist terror group

and I bet you also support using the USAF as the Jihadist bombing crew

betcha you also support ethnic cleansing of christians in the middle east

batting 1000 buddy

[Jacob Kell]

Wrong on all counts, hooch.

>batting 1000 buddy

More like batting 0 brain trust.

[Jacob Kell]

>Sounds like you support Marxist - Lenninist terror group

I don’t support the damn PKK if that’s what you mean.

> and I bet you also support using the USAF as the Jihadist bombing crew

>betcha you also support ethnic cleansing of christians in the middle east

Wrong on both counts, brain trust.

[vooch]

so
you support Assad relying in power and a return to peace in Syria ?

[Jacob Kell]

Yeah. Even though he sure as hell is not saint. Then again, saints are probably VERY scarce in that part of the world.