Türkiye's Justice Minister Confirms Final ECHR Ruling, Pushes Decision to National Courts

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) —Türkiye’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed that the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) Grand Chamber has finalized its ruling in the case of Selahattin Demirtas, stating that domestic courts will evaluate the matter in due course.

Türkiye’s Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunc, said on Wednesday that the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had rejected the Justice Ministry’s appeal regarding the Selahattin Demirtas case, thereby finalizing the court’s decision.

Speaking to reporters before the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting, Tunc said: “The Grand Chamber has rejected the Ministry of Justice’s appeal. The chamber’s decision has become final. If an application is made by the relevant parties, it will be evaluated by the court. We will all have to wait for this process together.”

He reiterated that the legal process within Türkiye would proceed according to judicial procedures. “A decision had been issued by the 22nd High Criminal Court of Ankara in connection with the Kobani case, which has continued since 2019. The appeal process is still ongoing. Regarding the ECHR’s decision on detention, the court found a violation concerning security rights and the conditions of arrest. The request for review by the Grand Chamber was not accepted, and the decision has thus become final,” he said.

Tunc further explained that the matter would now fall within the jurisdiction of domestic courts. “It will be up to the 22nd Penal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice to evaluate the case, either upon referral or upon the application of the relevant parties. We must wait for the court’s evaluation process,” he said.

The Justice Minister’s comments came after Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, a key political ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed support for Demirtas’s release.

In remarks delivered on Nov. 4, Bahçeli said: “The legal process has reached its conclusion. Demirtas’s release will be auspicious.”

Bahçeli’s statement marked a rare instance of alignment between Türkiye’s nationalist establishment and broader political voices calling for Demirtas’s freedom.

The ECHR’s ruling coincided with the ninth anniversary of Selahattin Demirtas’s imprisonment, amplifying domestic and international scrutiny of Türkiye’s legal system. Opposition parties, including the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), have urged the government to immediately implement the ruling and release Demirtas, calling it a test of Türkiye’s commitment to the rule of law.

Demirtas, 52, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has been detained since November 2016. He was sentenced to 42 years in prison over the 2014 Kobani protests, which erupted after public outrage at Türkiye’s perceived inaction during ISIS’s assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.

Throughout his detention, the ECHR has repeatedly ruled that his imprisonment violates fundamental rights and freedoms, deeming it politically motivated. Monday’s ruling by the Grand Chamber represents the court’s final and binding position on the matter.

As Türkiye’s domestic courts prepare to assess the ECHR ruling within the framework of national judicial procedures, both the Turkish public and the international community are watching closely. The case of Selahattin Demirtas remains a defining moment for Türkiye’s legal system, testing the balance between domestic judicial sovereignty and adherence to international human rights obligations.