ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Selahattin Demirtas, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, was visited by a number of Turkish writers and lawyers on Thursday. He asked: “Why do the intellectuals not hold hope forums?"
Three writers: Aysegul Tozeren, Vivet Kanetti and Belma Firat, and two lawyers: Cihat Duman and Bilal Altan visited Demirtas.
“You are scared. Do not be scared. They scare [people] three times a day, but you have to give hope six times [a day]. These are the most basic team in the history and they are temporary. Do not magnify them,” Duman quoted Demirtas in a tweet late Thursday.
“Seeing president [Demirtas] embarrasses me again like other people who are in the same conditions,” wrote Duman of Edirne Prison.
The jailed Kurdish leader also penned a message through the writers, stressing that he is “in a good condition and morale.”
Demirtas has been in jail since November 2016 for terror-related charges. He has attended some trials and boycotted some but his case remains disputed and unsolved as of yet.
He ran for Turkish presidential election on June 2018 and gained more than eight percent of votes despite limited election campaign in jail.
The HDP won 67 seats in the parliament. They are the second-largest party in opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Three writers: Aysegul Tozeren, Vivet Kanetti and Belma Firat, and two lawyers: Cihat Duman and Bilal Altan visited Demirtas.
“You are scared. Do not be scared. They scare [people] three times a day, but you have to give hope six times [a day]. These are the most basic team in the history and they are temporary. Do not magnify them,” Duman quoted Demirtas in a tweet late Thursday.
“Seeing president [Demirtas] embarrasses me again like other people who are in the same conditions,” wrote Duman of Edirne Prison.
The jailed Kurdish leader also penned a message through the writers, stressing that he is “in a good condition and morale.”
Demirtas has been in jail since November 2016 for terror-related charges. He has attended some trials and boycotted some but his case remains disputed and unsolved as of yet.
He ran for Turkish presidential election on June 2018 and gained more than eight percent of votes despite limited election campaign in jail.
The HDP won 67 seats in the parliament. They are the second-largest party in opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The HDP was not allowed to participate in drafting Ankara's response to US sanctions and tariffs.
Leyla Birlik claims asylum in Greece
On November 4, 2016, Demirtas and 13 other party MPs were arrested on charges of supporting the PKK — allegations denied by the HDP.
Former HDP MP Leyla Birlik illegally crossed into Greece on Wednesday and then requested asylum, police from Thessaloniki told AFP on Friday.
The 44-year-old Birlik was among the original 13 arrested by Turkish authorities. She was stripped of her parliamentary in May 2016 on accusations of making "terror propaganda."
The Kurd was released, but charges not dropped, in January 2017 and subject to a travel ban.
In January, a court in Sirnak, sentenced her to 21 months in prison for "insulting" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan in 2015.
Updated at 8:11 p.m.
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