In October 2014, the city of Kobane in northeastern Syria (Rojava) was under attack by the Islamic State (ISIS). HDP 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 held a press conference in Diyarbakir (Amed in Kurdish) where he criticised the violence while remaining firm in his support for the protestors. The demonstrations ended on his call.
At the latest hearing on Friday of the case that has been ongoing for more than two years, the prosecutor asked for life in prison for Demirtas, Yuksekdag, and 34 others on the charge of disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state, Diken news outlet reported.
The defendants’ lawyers accused the prosecutor of bowing to political pressure and being “President Erdogan’s appetiser” during an election campaign. Turkey will elect a new parliament and president in a competitive May 14 vote.
Demirtas too said the charges against him are political. “On May 14, we will tear up and throw away the indictment, which was written in the palace and handed over to the court committee,” he tweeted after the hearing, referring to the palace of the president.
“You couldn't bring us to our knees with your plots, but you will kneel before the people!” he added.
Former Mardin mayor Ahmet Turk and Green Left Party (Yesil Sol) parliamentary candidate Sirri Sureya Onder are among the defendants the prosecutor is requesting serve life in prison. Due to health reasons, Turk is expected to be released under judicial control.
Demirtas and Yuksekdag have been in prison since 2016 when they were arrested as part of a crackdown on the HDP, which is accused terrorism links.
In an election rally in Diyarbakir on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked the crowd “Where is Selo [Selahattin]?” and called the jailed former HDP leader a “terrorist.”
In December 2020, the European Court of Human Rights called for the “immediate release” of Demirtas, finding “several violations” of the European Convention on Human Rights had been committed. Erdogan slammed the court ruling at the time, saying “These steps are political, double standards and hypocritical.”
Demirtas faces multiple court cases and has been convicted on several charges, including insulting the president.
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