GERMANY – Kurdish activist Ciwan Çewlik has been doing political and cultural work in Germany for several years. On July 20, 2019, he went on a stage in support of the YPG/YPJ resistance and the Rojava Revolution. The Turkish Ministry of Justice opened an investigation into him.
At Turkey`s request, the Supreme Court of Hannover, Germany, opened a case against the artist, Ciwan Çelîk. Yesterday, he stood before the city`s Supreme Court.
The court representation announced their ruling and made it clear that the case involves no acts of crimes. The lawyer, Kelleoglu, was satisfied by the court`s ruling and stated his hopes from Germany: “Germany must reject Turkish pressure on the refugees living in Germany and must display a clear attitude in this regard”
Ciwan Çelîk spoke to ANF Newsagency after the ruling and made it clear that he will continue to sing songs for YPG/YPJ and the Rojava Revolution. He made it clear that he is not afraid of anyone or any forces in this regard and continued: “We are righteous and we will always stand up against injustice, we are not afraid of you, we are not bothered by you.”
On March 3, 2017, The Ministry of Internal Affairs released a decision which prohibited flags of PYD, YPG/YPJ and photographs of Abdullah Ocalan and several symols of the Kurdish Freedom Movement.
After the decreet was sent to Germany`s 16 states, the criminalization politics against Kurds in Germany immediately increased. Especially, the German police used the decreet as a pretext to carry out raids against the homes of Kurdish and German activists in Bavaria. Several local courts in Germany have ruled that the flags of YPG/YPJ and PYD are not criminalized.
