DEFENCE lawyers in the so-called Kobane case, the biggest mass political show trial in Turkish history, challenged the court’s independence today.

They accused prosecutors of acting on behalf of the Turkish state as they seek to jail 108 leading members of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

“You represent the state … you are the agent of the state,” the lawyers said in a protest held outside the Ankara courtroom.

Their comments were also directed at the interim judge presiding over the hearings, who rejected demands to allow the defence team more time to prepare its case.

Some 500 papers were sent to defendants last week and the lawyers insisted that they needed more time to read the documents and discuss them with their clients.

Casting doubt on the court’s independence, Association of Lawyers for Freedom co-chair Ilknur Alcan said: “Bahceli, Erdogan and Soylu are making statements as if giving you instructions,” referring to far-right leader Devlet Bahceli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Some 108 HDP cadres face 38 counts of homicide and multiple life sentences after being charged over the death of its own supporters.

Most were killed by security forces and government-allied paramilitary gangs during street protests in 2014, which vented anger at government inaction while the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane was under siege by Isis.

The trial continues.