Imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş has been sentenced to an additional 2.5 years in prison.
The sentence was handed down in a new trial related to speeches he made between 2015 and 2016, where he was accused of "publicly insulting the government of the Republic of Turkey, judicial organs, the military, or security organizations."
The 13th hearing of the case was held at Mersin's 14th Penal Court of First Instance. Demirtaş participated via videoconference from the Edirne F-Type Closed Prison, where he has been incarcerated for nearly eight years. His lawyers and Ali Bozan, an MP from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, were present in the courtroom, while his family followed the proceedings via videoconference from the Diyarbakır Courthouse.
"A copy-paste indictment"
In his defense, Demirtaş criticized the prosecutor’s demand for punishment, labeling it a "copy-paste" indictment devoid of any legal foundation. He argued that the trial is politically motivated, stating, "This case is political. The state is against Selahattin Demirtaş, and of course, the decision will favor the state. This is why it is political. There will be a violation of Article 14 in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This case has been ongoing for seven years.
Demirtaş highlighted the racial and political biases he believes he faces, asserting that if he were a nationalist politician inciting violence, he would not face prosecution. "If I were an ultra-nationalist politician who orchestrated killings in the heart of Ankara and threatened people, no case would be filed against me. Instead, you would protect me. If I were a fascist politician, the judiciary would protect me. But because I am a Kurdish politician exercising my right to criticize, I am prosecuted," he remarked.
Despite two rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordering Demirtaş’s release, the Turkish government has not freed the former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). His continued imprisonment has drawn significant international attention and criticism, particularly regarding Turkey's handling of Kurdish political figures and broader human rights issues.
Before this latest verdict, the most recent sentence imposed on Demirtaş was in May, when he received a 42-year prison sentence for organizing the deadly 2014 protests in the country's Kurdish-populated regions, known as the 'Kobanî protests.'
Imprisonment of Selahattin Demirtaş
Selahattin Demirtaş was detained on November 4, 2016. He was arrested and sent to Silivri Prison in İstanbul on the same day. He is still behind bars in Silivri.
All his investigations, except for one, have been combined in a single file. The lawsuit filed at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court has still not been concluded. As his request for release as part of this suit was rejected, his attorneys appealed to the Constitutional Court.
In their application to the Constitutional Court on May 29, 2018, the attorneys requested that his application be reviewed with priority. However, the Court has not yet responded to the application. On June 26, 2018, his case was taken to the ECtHR.
Shortly after this appeal to the ECtHR, the court announced its judgment in his second case. Tried in the case together with former HDP MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Selahattin Demirtaş has been sentenced to 4 years, 8 months in prison on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" by the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court.
One month later, on October 25, 2018, his verdict of conviction reached the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice, the court of appeal.
On November 17, 2018, the ECtHR announced that it would announce its judgment as to his application on November 20. The court of appeal swiftly reviewed the verdict of conviction of Demirtaş and started discussing it on November 19.
On November 20, 2018, the ECtHR concluded that Demirtaş was "arrested with political motivations" and ruled for his release.
The Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court rejected his request for release on November 30, 2018, indicating that "his arrest was a moderate measure".
On December 4, 2018, the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice upheld his verdict of conviction. With this verdict, Demirtaş became an arrested convict.
The attorneys of Demirtaş appealed again to the ECtHR on February 19, 2019, and requested that the issues not discussed, found inadmissible and not regarded as violation right be reviewed again.
The government also appealed against the ECtHR verdict on Demirtaş. In its petition, the government also requested that the ECtHR review its ruling of right violation again. That being the case, the case of Demirtaş has been taken to the ECtHR Grand Chamber, which announced that it would discuss the application on September 18, 2019.
The Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court on September 2 ruled that Demirtaş should be released. His imprisonment continued because of a separate verdict for hs arrest.
On December 22, 2020, the ECtHR Grand Chamber ruled for the immediate release of Demirtaş.
On September 17, 2021, The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the ECtHR rulings, stated that Demirtaş should be released and gave time to Turkey until September 30 to announce an action plan about the European court ruling.
(RT/VK)
