Turkey allows imprisoned Kurdish leader Demirtas to visit his father

His father Tahir Demirtas suffered from a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/11/12 18:51

Archive picture of former People's Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Demirtas with his parents(Photo: Serdar SUNAR/DİYARBAKIR/DHA)

Turkey Turkey HDP Demirtas AKP Turkish elections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed former co-leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), on Saturday for the first time was allowed to visit his sick father in the hospital.

His father Tahir Demirtas suffered from a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

Demirtas was transported from the Edirne prison to Diyarbakir (Amed in Kurdish) last night with heavy security.

After visiting his father, the Turkish security forces returned Demirtas back to prison.

The visit comes amidst a rapprochement between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the HDP ahead of the upcoming Turkish elections held on 18 June 2023.

Turkish police arrested Demirtas along with other lawmakers in simultaneous night raids across several provinces in November 2016 on serious charges of terrorism and "separatism."

Demirtas remains jailed in Turkey despite European Court of Human Rights rulings calling for his immediate release.