Judge rules immediate release for Demirtaş

The fact that the ruling comes days before the European Court of Human Rights hearing on September 18 raised many eyebrows in political circles. His lawyers did not attend the hearing, stating that they ‘need to prepare for the European court date’. The court also banned Demirtaş from leaving the country.

A four-term member of parliament and formerly co-chairman of the People's Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtaş is facing up to 142 years in prison with the charges of “founding and managing an organization against the state”, “propaganda for an armed organization against the state” and “promoting crimes and criminals”. The next hearings for the case will be held on the 7th, 8th and 9th of January 2020.

Yet as Demirtaş had already been sentenced and convicted to 4 years and 8 months in another court case ruling, his immediate release is unlikely.

Originally a lawyer, Demirtaş practiced law for a while before becoming a member of the executive committee of the Diyarbakır branch of the Human Rights Association. When association president Osman Baydemir was elected as Diyarbakır Mayor, Demirtaş replaced him, focusing mainly on political murders during his term.

Considered by many as a rising star in Turkish politics, Demirtaş started his political career in 2007 when he was elected to be a member of parliament for the pro- Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). He was then elected to parliament for three more consecutive terms, the last of which he is still technically serving, although from a prison cell.

Demirtaş was elected as co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party in 2014 and held this position until 2018. He was the party’s Presidential candidate in the 2014 elections and received 9.77% of the popular vote. He ran again in the 2018 elections, this time from prison, and received 8.4%. Demirtaş left his post as co-chair of the HDP soon after.

His greatest success came with the 2015 general elections when the HDP came in the fourth place with 13.12% of the popular vote and winning 80 seats in the 550-seat parliament. After this record breaking victory for any pro-Kurdish party in history, he declared “HDP is Turkey, Turkey is HDP." Upon this successs, many political analysts reached the conclusion that the HDP was now able to garner votes from the more libertarian voter base of the Republican People's Party (CHP). Pundits underlined his harmonizing and egalitarian discourse, as well as his natural charisma.

Demirtaş has been known to express his opinion on a wide range of sensitive issues from a Turkish standpoint. An example is the 1915 Armenian Genocide which he has referred to as "genocide" - a term the Turkish state flatly rejects. He also asserted that while both Turks and Kurds were partially responsible, the real culprit was the Committee of Union and Progress. Demirtaş believes that if the AKP is to revive the memory of the Ottoman Empire, they ought to take responsibility for such events as well.

He is also a vocal advocate of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). According to him, Öcalan’s defense at the İmralı Trials are the foundation blocks of HDP party philosophy. Demirtaş regards the PKK as a worldwide armed organization with powerful connections whose foremost priority is peace.

With respect to political autonomy for the Kurds, Demirtaş has used a changing tone over time. In 2009, speaking to Star newspaper, he maintained that Kurds did not need a nation-state. Instead, he made the case for a more egalitarian model of democracy.

Still, in the wake of the Uludere events in 2011, he stated: “Are you doing this to us because there is no Kurdistan? Kurdish people need a Kurdistan, whether autonomous, federal or independent. If this is what is necessary, Kurdish people should fill this gap”. And in 2013, speaking to Agos newspaper, he said that society was more polarized than ever and that the start should start looking into solutions like autonomy for the Kurdish minority.

Accused of spreading propaganda for Kurdish militant organizations, Demirtaş was arrested on November 4, 2016, along with other members of parliament.

Prosecutors put forward an indictment in January of 2017, setting out a 142-year sentence for Demirtaş and various other sentences for other party members. The 4-year and 8-month sentence which is keeping him in jail despite the recent ruling came as a result of a speech he gave on Newroz day back in 2013. Since then, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled him to be released from preliminary detention. Yet Turkish courts have refused to comply. Demirtaş is currently serving time at Edirne F-Type prison, the farthest possible location from his hometown Diyarbakır. He keeps himself busy with writing, reading, poetry and other forms of art and has released two books from jail entitled Seher and Devran.

According to HDP member of parliament Meral Danış Beştaş, a law specialist, Demirtaş must be released at once on probation. Demirtaş himself has described the ruling as “good, fair and lawful” through his lawyers. He is expected to be released on probation once his other sentence is complet - as long as there are no other developments.