Court rejects Selahattin Demirtaş's request for release

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The request of release for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş in the wake of a Constitutional Court verdict of "right violation" has been rejected by the local court.

CLICK - Constitutional Court: Rights of Selahattin Demirtaş violated

Evaluating the request for release submitted by Demirtaş's attorneys, the Ankara 2nd Penal Court of Peace has rejected the request on the ground that "there has been no change in evidence since Demirtaş was arrested."

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), in rejecting the request, the local court has noted that the offenses and acts which were the matters in dispute in the trial heard by the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court and for which the Constitutional Court gave a ruling of right violation and the offenses and acts which are the matters in dispute in the investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office are different from each other.

Referring to the offenses charged as part of the investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the court has briefly stated the following in rejecting the request for release of Demirtaş:

"Considering that the suspect had these offenses committed upon the so-called instructions of the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] Armed Terrorist Organization, that he had them committed knowingly and willingly, that the suspect had been in agreement in terms of their opinions and acts from the beginning and considering that the investigation file has made determinations and there are strong signs and evidence in that regard..."

Agreeing with the prosecutor's office in its opinion as to the accusations in favor of Demirtaş's continued arrest, the court has ruled that his request for release shall be rejected given the nature of the offense charged, the scope of the investigation, the content of the Article 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK) and the fact that there has been no change in the evidence in favor of the suspect since the date when he was arrested.

His attorneys will reportedly appeal against this rejection.

Trial of Selahattin Demirtaş

Selahattin Demirtaş was detained on November 4, 2016. He was arrested and sent to Silivri Prison in İstanbul on the same day. He is still behind bars in Silivri.

All his investigations, except for one, have been combined in a single file. The lawsuit filed at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court has still not been concluded. As his request for release as part of this suit was rejected, his attorneys appealed to the Constitutional Court.

In their application to the Constitutional Court on May 29, 2018, the attorneys requested that his application be reviewed with priority. However, the Court has not yet responded to the application. On June 26, 2018, his case was taken to the ECtHR.

Shortly after this appeal to the ECtHR, the court announced its judgment in his second case. Tried in the case together with former HDP MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Selahattin Demirtaş has been sentenced to 4 years, 8 months in prison on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" by the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court.

One month later, on October 25, 2018, his verdict of conviction reached the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice, the court of appeal.

On November 17, 2018, the ECtHR announced that it would announce its judgment as to his application on November 20. The court of appeal swiftly reviewed the verdict of conviction of Demirtaş and started discussing it on November 19.

On November 20, 2018, the ECtHR concluded that Demirtaş was "arrested with political motivations" and ruled for his release.

The Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court rejected his request for release on November 30 ,2018, indicating that "his arrest was a moderate measure".

On December 4, 2018, the 2nd Penal Chamber of İstanbul Regional Court of Justice upheld his verdict of conviction. With this verdict, Demirtaş became an arrested convict.

The attorneys of Demirtaş appealed again to the ECtHR on February 19, 2019, and requested that the issues not discussed, found inadmissible and not regarded as violation right be reviewed again.

The government also appealed against the ECtHR verdict on Demirtaş. In its petition, the government also requested that the ECtHR review its ruling of right violation again. That being the case, the case of Demirtaş has been taken to the ECtHR Grand Chamber, which announced that it would discuss the application on September 18, 2019.

In his hearing at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court on September 2, the court board has ruled that Demirtaş shall be released.

As his request for release has been rejected, his attorneys lodged a request of "deduction", demanding that the period that he has already served in prison be deducted from his prison term so that he could be released on probation. This request has not been answered yet.

(EKN/SD)