The reportage titled “Turkey: Forty-two years of prison for pro-Kurdish Demirtaş” made by Mayalen de Castelbajac explains Demirtaş’s role in Turkish politics and showcases the continued support he receives from Kurdish society in Turkey.
Arte TV is a French-German public service channel dedicated to culture, that produces content in French, German, English, Spanish, Polish and Italian.
The footage starts with scenes from the protests that emerged after Demirtaş was convicted to 42 years in prison in the context of the Kobani (Kobanê) conspiracy. It shows people chanting “Freedom for Selahattin” and a young men exclaiming “The people will make themselves heard! Long Live the Resistance! Long Live Selahattin Demirtaş!”.
Arte TV explains that the electoral of success of Demirtaş has made him a “dangerous rival for President Erdoğan” and a “thorn in the side of the Turkish government”. In an interview with Arte TV, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP Çiçek Otlu states that “This trial is politically motivated, as if Erdoğan himself had written the indictment instead of the state prosecution.”
Concerning the background of the Kobani trial, the reportage explains that during the Islamic State’s occupation of the Kurdish city of Kobani in northeast Syria in 2014, Erdoğan had refused to intervene, and additionally, prevented Kurds from crossing the Turkish-Syrian border to defend the city. Demirtaş made a call out to the public on social media protest in support of Kobani. At least 40 people were killed by Turkish police and military during the demonstrations.
The reportage also highlights the fact that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered the release of Demirtaş, but Turkey is “simply ignoring this.”
At the end of the reportage, Demirtaş’s lawyer Ramazan Demir explains in an interview that, “Turkey is obliged to respect decisions of the ECHR” and that “the Council of Europe should review the execution [of their decisions], but nothing has happened for four years.”
Demir adds that they will “of course lodge an appeal, but this will probably lead to nothing. There is now no judge or court in Turkey that would dare to acquit Demirtaş.”
