Turkey
A supporter of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds up pictures of jailed former party leader Selahattin Demirtas during a rally in Istanbul on February 3, 2019. File photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The European Parliament on Thursday called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of politician Selahattin Demirtas, the former co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party who has been in jail for more than four years.
The European Parliament “considers the unlawful extension of Mr Demirtas’ detention for more than 4 years a cruel and politically motivated punishment that is causing irreparable personal and political damage to him, his family and his party,” read the resolution that got the backing of the majority of lawmakers.
Demirtas was detained in November 2016 along with a number of officials and parliamentarians from his Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on allegations of ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey but classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
In December, a European court ordered Turkey to release Demirtas, saying it found several human rights violations in his case. A few weeks later, a Turkish court accepted a new indictment against the charismatic leader.
The European Parliament condemned Turkey’s flouting of the court decision and raised concerns about “political motivations” behind the case against Demirtas.
The legislature also slammed a 2020 crackdown on HDP and Turkey’s opposition that has seen dozens of politicians and civil society actors arrested under terror-related charges.
Demirtas’ detention will likely be discussed when Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visits Brussels this week. His trip comes as Ankara is keen to “turn a new page” with Europe, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recently.
Implementing reforms and “respecting and applying the rulings of the ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights] would be an important step in confirming the credibility of such statements,” the European Parliament stated in the resolution passed on Thursday.
The European Parliament “considers the unlawful extension of Mr Demirtas’ detention for more than 4 years a cruel and politically motivated punishment that is causing irreparable personal and political damage to him, his family and his party,” read the resolution that got the backing of the majority of lawmakers.
Demirtas was detained in November 2016 along with a number of officials and parliamentarians from his Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on allegations of ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey but classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
In December, a European court ordered Turkey to release Demirtas, saying it found several human rights violations in his case. A few weeks later, a Turkish court accepted a new indictment against the charismatic leader.
The European Parliament condemned Turkey’s flouting of the court decision and raised concerns about “political motivations” behind the case against Demirtas.
The legislature also slammed a 2020 crackdown on HDP and Turkey’s opposition that has seen dozens of politicians and civil society actors arrested under terror-related charges.
Demirtas’ detention will likely be discussed when Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visits Brussels this week. His trip comes as Ankara is keen to “turn a new page” with Europe, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recently.
Implementing reforms and “respecting and applying the rulings of the ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights] would be an important step in confirming the credibility of such statements,” the European Parliament stated in the resolution passed on Thursday.
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