A demonstration in support of the Kurds in Paris, October 12, 2019. – BUFKENS CEDRIC / SIPA
- Vedat Bingol, a Kurdish activist who took refuge in France, was heard on Wednesday by police from Val de Marne.
- He was heard at the request of Turkey within the framework of an international convention.
- Turkish justice accuses him of acts of “propaganda of a terrorist organization”, which he disputes.
Three days after Emmanuel Macron’s statements on the risks of Turkish “interference” during the next presidential election in France, this is a new chapter in the agitated diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to our information, a Kurdish activist who took refuge in France was questioned on Wednesday by French police at the request of Turkey.
Co-president of the Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F) from 2016 to 2019, Vedat Bingol was summoned on Wednesday to the Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (Val-de-Marne) police station on the basis of a request for international criminal assistance. Turkish justice accuses him of acts of “propaganda of a terrorist organization”, a qualifier that does not exist in French criminal law. In question, a dozen tweets published in 2018 and 2019 accused of criticizing Turkey’s foreign policy.
“Out of the question for him to answer the Turkish authorities”
“During the summons, I affirmed that I was not doing propaganda, that I was only sharing information,” Vedat Bingol explains to 20 minutes. His lawyer, Camille Souleil-Balducci, adds that his client “was ready to provide answers to the French authorities but that it was out of the question for him to answer the Turkish authorities. “
For the time being, the activist does not have access to his file. As provided for in the request for international assistance, his hearing must be transmitted to Turkey. Contacted by 20 minutes, the Turkish Embassy in France did not respond to our requests. But according to CDK-F activists, this hearing of a Kurdish refugee demanded by Turkey would be a first in France. In Germany, Kurdish activists were also heard, according to the CDK-F.
Assets frozen in 2019 and 2020
“France agrees to hear from people who are prosecuted for their freedom of expression”, deplores Camille Souleil-Balducci, who recalls that his client “is a political refugee” and that as such, he enjoys “protection from France “. This hearing “is shocking for us”, abounds Agit Polat, current spokesperson for the CDK-F, which brings together 24 Kurdish associations in France.
In 2019, the French administration had already decided to freeze the assets of Vedat Bingol for a period of six months, before renewing the measure in 2020, which activists contested. In its decision, the administration cites the monetary and financial code, an article of which authorized the freezing of funds from persons suspected of terrorism. But she does not detail the facts that she accuses precisely the militants.
“Today, Vedat Bingol and I can justify the origin and the expenditure of the smallest euro cent that has circulated on our accounts, develops Agit Polat. At no time have we been accused of financing terrorism. In this regard, Camille Souleil-Balducci points to the inconsistencies of the administration which allowed several months to elapse before the renewal of this gel.
A dozen Kurdish activists in custody
Otherwise, 20 minutes had confirmation from a judicial source of the placement in police custody Tuesday of a dozen Kurdish activists, residing mainly in the south of France. A judicial investigation was opened for “association of terrorist criminals” and “financing of a terrorist enterprise”.
These activists were still in police custody on Thursday. The acts with which they are accused are said to be linked to the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which the EU classified in
a list of groups “Involved in acts of terrorism” and “subject to restrictive measures”. These arrests are not linked to the hearing of Vedat Bingol.