Turkish court evaluating jailed Kurdish politician Demirtas case: Minister

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Sunday that a top Ankara court is evaluating a final ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which demands the immediate release of prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas.

The ECHR ruled on July 8 that Demirtas, who has been imprisoned since November 2016 on terror-related charges, must be released immediately. Turkey appealed the ruling, but the court upheld its decision in the final verdict. 

Tunc said on Sunday that the ruling has arrived at the 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal for review. 

 "The evaluation here is now before the court. We will all wait together to see what decision the court will make,” he told reporters when asked about the possibility of the Kurdish politician's release. 

A Turkish court in May 2024 handed Demirtas around 40 years of jail term in relation to the so-called Kobane case. 

In October 2014, the city of Kobane in northeastern Syria (Rojava) was under attack by the Islamic State (ISIS). The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), now rebranded as Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), called for street protests to ask the Turkish government to open a corridor allowing military aid from the Kurdistan Region to reach the Kurdish city. The protests turned violent and 51 people were killed and hundreds more injured. 

Demirtas was the co-chair of the HDP between 2014 and 2018.

Many legal experts expect Demirtas to be released soon, citing the removal of all legal obstacles keeping him behind bars.

Dozens of political parties and bar associations in Turkey have called for Demirtas’ release.