Turkey to 'evaluate' ECtHR decision for Demirtaş's release, says AKP spokesperson

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Turkey's judiciary will evaluate the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a ruling party spokesperson has said.

The European top court concluded yesterday (December 22) that Demirtaş was sent to prison with political motives and should be released immediately.

"The ECtHR decision is a new decision. The justified decision is about 100-150 pages. Our legal system will evaluate [it]. Accordingly, an approach will be developed," Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik told a press conference after a party meeting.

The ECtHR also ruled for Demirtaş's release in November 2018 but his imprisonment continued as a court remanded him in custody in another case.

Demirtaş has been behind bars since October 2016.

Also mentioning the recent debate for the closure of the HDP, Çelik said there are other alternatives to shutting down political parties, including blocking the Treasury aids.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of the AKP, suggested last week that the HDP should be closed because of "terrorism."

CLICK - Government ally Bahçeli insists HDP should be closed

AKP Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş said in response that Turkey had not achieved positive results by closing a party before.

Bahçeli then said Kurtulmuş should explain whether the government should cover the expenses of "bullets, bombs, mines and Kalashnikovs," asserting that the HDP was handing out the Treasury aids and people's taxes to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Çelik said both Bahçeli and Kurtulmuş wanted to prevent terrorist propaganda and a democracy is not desperate if a political party is engaged in terrorism.

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.

(EKN/VK)