Turkish court rules for release of Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas
Although the court ruled for his release, the Kurdish leader’s lawyers said he would remain in prison as he serves a four-year and eight-month sentence for a separate crime.
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said Demirtas’ entire sentence should be overturned because he was calling for a peaceful solution to Turkey’s “Kurdish problem,” not making statements that encourage “violence, armed resistance or rebellion.”
Read More: European human rights court orders Turkey to free Kurdish leader Demirtas
The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having close ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an allegation it has used to justify its crackdown on Kurdish politicians. The HDP denies links to the PKK.
Turkish police arrested Demirtas along with 10 other MPs in simultaneous night raids across several provinces on Nov. 4, 2016, with charges of terrorism and separatism based on various public speeches they had delivered.
Prosecutors have asked up to 142 years for him in different probes, including one involving accusations he insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but no conviction has been delivered.
Erdogan has openly called him a “terrorist,” and declared, if authorized by the Parliament, that he would sign the death sentence for his then-rival in the run-up to the June 2018 presidential and general elections.
