Click to read the article in Turkish
After the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Selahattin Demirtaş, the arrested former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), should be immediately released, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu have commented on the judgement.
While President Erdoğan has said, "These steps are political; the judgement is literally a double standard, even hypocrisy," Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has stated, "Regardless of its reason for giving this judgement, the judgement handed down by the European Court of Human Rights is at loose ends and does not have any meaning."
'Stand up in the face of atrocity'
Amid these statements disregarding the ECtHR judgement, Demirtaş has sent a brief message from Edirne Type T Prison in northwestern Turkey. The message has been shared on his social media account:
"Don't mind their yelling, they are trying to cover up their fears, weaknesses and impotence. Be brave and stand up in the face of atrocity, that is what I do. We are right, we are strong and we are in good spirits. We will win all together. Don't worry, Turkey is bigger than the 5-member gang."
Bakmayın öyle bağırıp çağırdıklarına. Korkularını, zayıflıklarını, acizliklerini örtmeye çalışıyorlar. Cesur olun ve zulme karşı dik durun, ben öyle yapıyorum. Haklıyız, güçlüyüz ve moralliyiz. Hep birlikte kazanacağız. Merak etmeyin, Türkiye 5'li çeteden büyüktür.
— Selahattin Demirtaş (@hdpdemirtas) December 24, 2020
Başak Demirtaş: You cannot incriminate anyone
Başak Demirtaş, the wife of Selahattin Demirtaş, has also shared a message on Twitter. Addressing the AKP executives and courts, she has said:
"You ran political campaigns so that Selahattin would be arrested. He was arrested and put on trial: It was ruled once by the Ankara Heavy Penal Court, once by the Constitutional Court and twice by the European Court of Human Rights that his detention was unlawful.
"Lastly, the European Court of Human Rights, in a final judgement, has ruled that all charges shall be dropped. You cannot incriminate people just because you want it. This is what a crime is!"
1- Selahattin tutuklansın, yargılansın diye siyasi kampanyalar yürüttünüz. Tutuklandı, yargılandı: 1 kez Ankara Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi, 1 kez Anayasa Mahkemesi, 2 kez de Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi, tutuklamanın hukuksuz olduğuna karar verdi.
— Başak Demirtaş (@Basak__Demirtas) December 24, 2020
(EMK/SD)
