Constitutional Court Rejects Demirtaş’s Demand for Release

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Constitutional Court has rejected Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) imprisoned presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş's request for release.

The request for Demirtaş's release was rejected by Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court on May 21.

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Demirtaş's lawyers took the case to the upper court, Ankara 20th Heavy Penal Court but the request was rejected again on May 24 and upon the rejection, lawyers appealed to the Constitutional Court on May 29.

Constitutional Court's verdict of Balbay was pointed

In the individual application petition, it was stressed that Demirtaş has been behind bars since November 4, 2016, and asserted that the detention is a gross violation of the applicant's right to elect and be elected.

In the petition where Constitutional Court's verdict of "right violation" of main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) İzmir MP Mustafa Balbay in 2013, it was advocated that Demirtaş's detention will cast doubt on the legitimacy of presidential election considering that the other five candidates make use of all sorts of propaganda means, and it was demanded that Demirtaş be released. (EKN/TK)