ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A European court ruled on Tuesday that Turkey's pre-trial detention of Selahattin Demirtas is not necessary, and Ankara has registered several instances of human rights violations in his case.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg delivered judgments on 14 reasons the Demirtas case has been mishandled.
Chiefly they judged the case of Demirtas has not been reviewed speedily and the evidence presented by the judiciary did not warrant his arrest.
The court "holds, unanimously, that the respondent State is to take all necessary measures to put an end to the applicant’s pre-trial detention..."
AİHM’in Demirtaş hakkında verdiği karar Meclis Kadın Grubu toplantımızda büyük bir coşku ile karşılandı. Derhal adım atılmalı, Demirtaş ve tüm seçilmişler özgür kalmalıdır. #AİHMkararınaUyulsun pic.twitter.com/gcF2IkcLm4
— HDP (@HDPgenelmerkezi) November 20, 2018
"Measures shall be taken immedietely and Demirtas and all the elected shall be released," added the party.
The court also ruled that his lawyer should be reimbursed by the Republic of Turkey for costs incurred by the defense team.
"Let's see the decision. The judicial authority will decide on this issue," Anadolu Agency quoted Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul as saying.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan downplayed the European ruling while speaking to party members in Ankara.
"The decision made by the ECoHR does not bind us. We will make our countermove and finish the work," he said, according to Anadolu Agency.
Update: 2:35 p.m.
