A lawmaker from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who was accused of propagating terrorist propaganda was released, a Turkish court said Monday.
Diyarbakir's eighth High Criminal Court ruled for the acquittal and release of HDP Diyarbakır lawmaker Nimetullah Erdoğmuş.
He was accused of attending, along with HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş, a so-called "civilian Friday prayer" in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province in March 2016 in protest of Turkish security forces' operations in the region against the PKK terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, another HDP lawmaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who has also been accused of spreading terrorist propaganda, testified before a Turkish prosecutor in Ankara on Monday. A court order had been issued for Önder to provide testimony.
Önder and his lawyer left the Ankara courthouse after he gave his testimony.
Last November, 13 HDP lawmakers were arrested and 10 of them, including HDP co-leaders Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ remain in custody awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.
The lawmakers face prosecution under anti-terrorism legislation after their parliamentary immunity was lifted.
The government has accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.
