 leader Abdullah Öcalan was chanted during a parliamentary meeting of the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party) this week, the Anka news agency reported.){kind=link}
A lawyer and an opposition party leader have separately filed, or threatened to file, criminal complaints after a slogan lauding jailed outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan was chanted during a parliamentary meeting of the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party) this week, the Anka news agency reported.
The slogan “Bijî Serok Apo” (Long live leader Apo) was chanted during the DEM Party’s parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday. Video of the incident circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from nationalist groups.
The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Earlier this year, following a historic call from Öcalan, the group announced it would end its decades-long armed campaign and lay down its arms as part of a new peace process with the Turkish government.
Paşa Büyükkayaer, a lawyer with the Ankara Bar Association, filed the complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. He accused those chanting the slogan of “spreading terrorist propaganda” and “praising crime and criminals,” offenses under the Turkish Penal Code. In his petition he called for authorities to identify the individuals through ID registration, review security camera footage and press charges against them.
Yavuz Ağıralioğlu, head of the small opposition Anahtar (Key) Party, said his party will also file a complaint against those chanting the pro-Öcalan slogan.
Speaking on Sözcü TV, he called the chants an attempt to glorify terrorism. “Glorifying terror, glorifying terrorists, chanting slogans for terrorists is a crime,” he said, urging parliament to protect its institutional identity.
DEM Party sources told Deutsche Welle Turkish edition that the chanting was not preplanned and came spontaneously from outside attendees during the meeting.
The group chanting the slogan reportedly consisted of women invited to the session who had marched from Diyarbakır to Ankara to demand a “right to hope” for Öcalan.
The “right to hope” refers to the assessment of whether a prisoner, based on good behavior, may be conditionally released after serving a portion of their sentence, as determined by law.
The DEM Party and Öcalan’s supporters demand that Öcalan benefit from this practice and be freed from prison in line with the ongoing peace process with the PKK.
Öcalan, 76, has been serving a life sentence on İmralı Island since 1999, after he was captured in Kenya and brought to Turkey.
The renewed peace process with the PKK was initiated in October 2024 by far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, a key government ally. Bahçeli publicly called on Öcalan to urge the militant group to lay down its arms.
He said Öcalan could benefit from the right to hope if he renounces terrorism and calls on the PKK to disarm. Öcalan responded in February with a message calling on the PKK to disarm and disband.
The PKK decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed campaign, saying it “has completed its historic mission” in line with Öcalan’s call.
Thirty PKK militants burned their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq in July, marking a symbolic first step towards ending a decades-long conflict with Turkey in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.
The DEM Party facilitated the talks between Öcalan and Ankara during the process by regularly visiting Öcalan in prison.