PACE calls on Turkey to release Demirtaş after ECtHR judgment

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has urged Turkey to release Selahattin Demirtaş from prison, implementing a decision by the European top court.

Concluding the case of Demirtaş yesterday (December 22), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Demirtaş's imprisonment was political and he should be released immediately.

"Selahattin Demirtaş must be freed from prison - and free to exercise his political rights in a democratic society again without further delay," said the PACE's Turkey rapporteurs, Thomas Hammarberg and Boriss Cilevičs.

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Recalling that the former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has been held in prison for more than four years, they said, "Our Assembly has repeatedly underscored that the place of deputies is in parliament, not in prison.

"The Court's final ruling confirmed that Mr. Demirtaş' initial and continued pre-trial detention significantly reduced the scope of free democratic debate.

"It unanimously ruled that Mr. Demirtaş' right to free elections had been violated while confirming that his pre-trial detention ultimately sought to stifle pluralism and limit freedom of political debate, in violation of article 18 of the Convention, which was 'a matter of indisputable gravity for democracy.' This course of action must be reversed."

Boriss Cilevičs also welcomed the Grand Chamber judgment, saying, "The Court thankfully upheld the principle that criminal law must not be abused to prevent politicians from peacefully exercising their mandates, even if their political activities challenge those currently in power.

"The immediate release of Selahattin Demirtaş would therefore be a strong and meaningful signal of Turkey's willingness to abide by the judgments of the Strasbourg Court and its genuine commitment to fundamental values underlying its membership to the Council of Europe."

Trial 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.

In his hearing at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court on September 2, the court board has ruled that Demirtaş shall be released.

Demirtaş has not been released.

(AS/VK)