Cihan Erdal’s spouse speaks ahead of May 18 trial

Turkish Ph.D. student and Canadian resident Cihan Erdal was arrested in Turkey on September 25, 2020. Turkish authorities accused him of inciting violence during the Kobane protests which took place in 2014.

Seven years ago, thousands of people took to the streets accusing Erdogan’s government of failing to protect Syrian Kurds from the Islamic State. The HDP party has been blamed for its role in the deadly protests.

According to human rights groups, the evidence presented by Turkish authorities against Cihan is poor and doesn’t have any link with the alleged crimes of ‘disrupting the unity and integrity of the state’, ‘intentional killing’, and ‘qualified robbery’.

The trial will begin on May 18.