ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas could be released in the coming days following a final ruling by Europe’s top human rights court calling for his immediate release, a pro-Kurdish lawmaker at the Turkish parliament said on Tuesday.
“There is a European Court of Human Rights [ECHR] decision regarding Selahattin Demirtas for his release, and this decision has become final as Turkey's objection was rejected,” Cengiz Candar, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), told Rudaw. “Therefore, Selahattin Demirtas must be released at any moment as required by law. He should have been released this week already. There was no word about it.”
“The possibility of his release this weekend or next week is very strong,” he added.
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.
The ruling has arrived at the 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal for review.
Demirtas has been jailed since 2016 over charges related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a new peace process with Ankara. Many believe that Demirtas’ potential release is linked to the process.
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 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 were injured.
Demirtas was the co-chair of the HDP between 2014 and 2018.
Dozens of political parties and bar associations in Turkey have called for Demirtas’ release.
A former premier and ex-ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told Rudaw that Demirtas should be released. “He should be released as early as possible,” Ahmet Davutoglu, head of the opposition Future Party, said.
When asked if Demirtas will be released, he said, “Yes, I hope and I will support his release.”
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment