Selahattin Demirtaş sentenced to prison for ‘targeting a prosecutor’

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Former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş had his final hearing in the trial over his remarks about former Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman.

Behind bars in Edirne Type F Closed Prison since November 2016 and charged with "insult and turning a counterterrorism official into a target", Selahattin Demirtaş attended the hearing at the 25th Heavy Penal Court via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

Handing down its ruling, the court board has ruled that Selahattin Demirtaş shall be sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison.

'It didn't constitute a crime'

Before the ruling was pronounced, Selahattin Demirtaş and his attorneys made statements as to the accusations.

Taking the floor to make his defense, Demirtaş stated, "Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman assigned another prosecutor and lodged an indictment against me based on the defense that I had made at his court."

Noting that one of these defense statements brought against him as 'criminal evidence' was the one that he made at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court, Demirtaş said, "No rational person of law can bring any charges against me over the content of that defense statement."

Underlining that his defense did not constitute a crime, Selahattin Demirtaş noted, "One does not have to be a legist to see this, everyone who reads it would know it. Referring to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman by his name, I said, 'He organized a political plot against us, we will bring him to account before the law and justice.' I said, 'If I die, my attorneys, my heirs will follow up the legal process, I will never give up seeking justice.'

Demirtaş continued, "I made a defense within this scope and, turning this defense statement into an indictment on charge of making a target for terrorist organizations, the same public prosecutor, in an unethical manner, assigned a prosecutor and made this prosecutor carry out the investigation about himself and present it to your court as an indictment."

'Why did I say all these? Because...'

Addressing the court board, Demirtaş said that they had accepted this indictment and started hearing the trial. "But why did I feel the need to say all these about Yüksel Kocaman," he asked and explained:

"When I and our Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ were arrested for the second time in September 2019, I mean, when we were arrested while imprisoned, we were apparently arrested based on zero evidence. We saw it when the indictment was opened and it was accepted by the court."

Sharing details about this lack of evidence, Selahattin Demirtaş moved on to say that "while he was making his defense as a defendant at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court, prosecutor Ahmet Altun of that hearing, with the assignment of Yüksel Kocaman, was also carrying out an investigation against Demirtaş regarding the same issue for the second time."

Noting that this incident was revealed later on, Demirtaş clarified that the related prosecutor was "both the prosecutor of the hearing where he was standing trial and the prosecutor of the investigation against him."

Demirtaş also reminded the court board and the audience that Yüksel Kocaman met President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and publicized this meeting on his own social media account. "We also presented this as evidence. I am just reminding you of this. It is - of course - an interesting meeting," said Demirtaş.

Accusing Kocaman of "organizing a political plot and not hiding his political identity", Demirtaş raised concerns that "he, as a person from the AKP, had the HDP co-chairs and former executives arrested." He said that "the prosecutor had committed a serious crime."

Attorneys made defense

Following the statement of Selahattin Demirtaş, his attorneys Hadi Cin and Mahsuni Karaman also took the floor to make their statements.

Attorney Cin referred to the prosecutor's opinion as to the accusations, which made a comment on "Demirtaş's relation and connection with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) / Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) terrorist organization", and asked based on what evidence the prosecutor uttered this expression in the opinion as to the accusations.

Making defense after Cin, Karaman said, "It will not be a great deal if you give a ruling of acquittal today. It will mean that you will throw a file that should not have been opened in the first place into the dustbin."

"Otherwise, you will do evil to Turkey. Do it for yourselves. Or else, don't give a ruling of acquittal for Demirtaş. Because he is acquitted in any case. We want you to bring this tragicomic issue to a halt here."

2.5 years in prison without reduction

Announcing its ruling after the statements, the court has concluded that there is no ground for penalizing Selahattin Demirtaş for "threat".

It has sentenced Demirtaş to 2 years, 6 months in prison for "turning a counterterrorism official into a target." Demirtaş's prison term has not been reduced on the stated ground of "the way in which the act was committed, the time and place of the act and its intention and intensity." (RT/SD)