The pro-Kurdish politician Demirtaş was considered a beacon of hope for the Turkish opposition – but he has been imprisoned since 2016. According to media reports, he has now been sentenced to more than 40 years in prison. He is accused of a role in violent protests.
According to media reports, a Turkish court has sentenced the former leader of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, Selahattin Demirtaş, to a total of more than 40 years in prison. Demirtas, who has been imprisoned since 2016, was accused of, among other things, a role in violent protests in 2014. The former co-chair of the HDP, Figen Yüksekdag, was also sentenced to 30 years and three months in prison, as reported by private broadcaster NTV and human rights group MLSA.
The so-called Kobane protests, which the HDP called for at the time, were sparked by allegations that the Turkish army stood by and watched the siege of the Syrian-Kurdish border town of Kobane by the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). The protests in several Turkish provinces turned violent and rival groups clashed. 37 people died.
The public prosecutor’s office demanded life imprisonment in 38 cases. The proceedings began in April 2021, and the defense describes the process as politically motivated.
Long a serious rival to Erdogan
The charismatic lawyer Demirtaş, who comes from a Kurdish family, was seen as the opposition’s hope. For a long time he was a serious rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, running against him in the presidential elections twice. Then the government in Ankara accused Demirtaş of “terrorism” and he was arrested in November 2016.
The 51-year-old was charged with 47 counts, including violating state unity and territorial integrity and inciting a crime. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had criticized the proceedings in the past and demanded Demirtaş’s release. A total of 108 people were accused in the trial, only some of whom were acquitted.
President Erdogan accuses the HDP of being the political arm of the banned underground organization PKK. The HDP rejects this. Prohibition proceedings are underway against the party. In parliament it has already regrouped as DEM and is the third largest party there.