* Photo: AA

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Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır MP Remziye Tosun for allegedly "inciting the public to enmity and hatred or humiliating."

While the investigation has been opened under the Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), the Prosecutor's Office has referred to "some expressions used in the announcement that the HDP group made in some neighborhoods in Diyarbakır's central Sur and Yenişehir districts regarding the novel coronavirus (Covid-19)" as the reason for the investigation.

A detention warrant has also been reportedly issued against the person who made the announcement in question.

Statement by the HDP

Sharing a statement regarding the investigation on its social media account, the HDP has noted that Remziye Tosun has been targeted by a lynch campaign. "Telling the truths and warning the public is not a crime, but a duty", the party has underlined in its social media message.

Halkın evde kalması, tedbirli davranması ve kendisini koruması çağrısını yapan Diyarbakır Milletvekilimiz Remziye Tosun’a yönelik iktidar trolleri tarafından ahlaksızca sürdürülen linç kampanyasını en sert biçimde kınıyoruz. Gerçekleri söylemek, halkı uyarmak suç değil, görevdir. pic.twitter.com/dU3c9WLuLs — HDP (@HDPgenelmerkezi) March 29, 2020

What did Tosun say?

A group of people, including MP Remziye Tosun, made announcements with loudspeakers in some neighborhoods in Sur and Yenişehir districts, calling on people to stay home due to the pandemic.

While the images of the annoucement have been shared on social media accounts, HDP MP Tosun addressed the public in following words:

"Coronavirus has spread to the entire world. We contract the disease from each other. The sich transmit the virus to the ones around them. The government is not taking precautions for its people.

"The measures taken are not sufficient. We have to take precautions for our families and people, we must not go out.

"Use your hands with soap frequently and pour eau de cologne to your hands. We must not embrace each other or hold hands. Don't forget: It is in our power to protect ourselves and the public. Please stay indoors." (TP/SD)