Up to three years in jail sought for Demirtaş over remarks about prosecutor in court statement

Duvar English

Turkish prosecutors have prepared a fresh indictment against former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş with regards to his remarks about Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman during a hearing that took place in January.

The new indictment, which seeks up to three years in jail for Demirtaş, accuses the renowned politician of targeting Kocaman within the framework of “counter-terrorism law.”

Lawyer Mahsuni Karaman shared a copy of Demirtaş's defense statement on his Twitter account.

“The person who runs the operation against me is the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, by organizing the second arrest. I know all the details of how my second arrest was done. Chief Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman and his deputy. We filed a criminal complaint against them,” Demirtaş had told the court during the Jan. 7-dated hearing.

“Yüksel Kocaman, there is Allah who is greater than the [Presidential] Palace in which you trust. The wheel is going to turn, and when elections happen, you will be laughing on the other side of your face. You will give an account of all this before the judiciary,” Demirtaş had also said.

Laywer Karaman commented on the fresh indictment against the former HDP co-chair saying: “Demirtaş had said that all the illegal process was running through Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman. We suppose they have been disturbed by this. Not only are they opening an investigation against whatever Demirtaş says, does, but now they are also opening investigation against his defense statement. They will also later file a new investigation against Demirtaş's defense statement for this case.”

“They are trying to wear us down. Yüksel Kocaman recently appeared at the [Presidential] Palace, and now he is launching an indictment today,” Karaman told Halk TV on Sept. 23.

Karaman has recently raised eyebrows after visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Palace, following his wedding ceremony.

Pictures of Kocaman and the bride, Ayça Dursun, were interpreted as the current state of the judiciary being dependent on the government and Erdoğan.

Demirtaş released a message from jail regarding Kocaman's visit to the Presidential Palace, saying the prosecutor's close relationship with Erdoğan did not mean that he would not be facing prosecution in the future.

“He reminded certain prosecutors of this: There were prosecutors who got gifted armored vehicles, and they still couldn’t escape judgement. Gifts you receive will not save you from prosecution,” Demirtaş said in a message shared by his lawyers.

Kocaman has been staunchly against releasing Demirtaş, who was jailed on Nov. 4, 2016 on charges related to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey denied a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling for his immediate release.