Prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş told a court hearing on Tuesday that his lengthy detention in Turkey was a result of his Kurdish identity and political views.
The jailed former co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has been behind bars for seven years, accused of “publicly denigrating the government and state organs” during rally speeches in 2015 and 2016, and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Demirtaş rejected the charges, stating that if he were a “racist, fascist gang leader” he would not be on trial today. He stressed his duty to represent the millions of people who voted for him.
In his address to the court, Demirtaş commented on what he called “crimes against the Kurdish people” during military operations by Turkish security forces. Presenting photos of tortured people from different provinces, he urged the court to prioritise humanity over the protection of those responsible for such acts.
Demirtaş also criticised the prosecutor for overlooking his political role, alleging the politicisation of the judiciary and the promotion of judges who had convicted him in a previous case, as well as other opposition figures.
The Court rejected most of the requests made by his lawyers and set the next hearing for 15 May 2024.
Demirtaş’s legal entanglement began with his 2016 arrest in Diyarbakır, during operations targeting HDP executives. In addition to seven criminal charges, he was separately sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for ‘terrorist propaganda’ related to a speech he made during the short-lived peace process between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Grand Chamber confirmed in 2020 that Demirtaş’s imprisonment was ‘politically motivated’ and demanded his immediate release. Turkey, however, did not comply.
Tuesday’s hearing was a consolidation of ten separate cases. Due to the failure to implement the ECHR ruling, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has set a deadline of September for Demirtaş’s release. Warning of “new measures” if the deadline is not met, the Committee will revisit the issue at its December meeting, if the Turkish authorities fail to release Demirtaş in accordance with the ECHR’s demands.
