Turkish court rules Selahattin Demirtaş’ detention will continue

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A court in Turkey has ruled that former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş will remain in prison.

The Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court on Wednesday held a third hearing for Demirtaş since his arrest in November 2016 and decided that the imprisoned Kurdish leader would continue his detention.

According to Demirtaş’ lawyer Ramazan Demir, the court postponed the case for Aug. 28 to 29, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Demirtaş’ first trial was on Feb. 14, 2018.

Ankara accuses him of supporting the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and he is being tried on charges of “founding and managing a terrorist organization” as well as “propaganda for a terrorist organization.”

His attorneys have denied the charges and request that Demirtaş be released as there has not been a proper trial since his arrest, while the Prosecutor’s Office demands his detention continue.

He faces up to 142 years of imprisonment in over 30 cases filed against him, among them for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and claims of “terrorism and separatism” over past speeches.

The charismatic Kurdish leader was a candidate for the HDP in the recent Turkish snap polls on June 24 where he was forced to campaign under unfair circumstances from his prison cell.

Demirtaş received 8.4 percent of votes in the presidential elections race behind leading opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Muharrem Ince (30.6) and winner Erdogan (52.6).

The HDP won 11.7 percent of votes in the parliamentary elections, comfortably surpassing the 10 percent threshold required for a party to enter Parliament.