DTP Chair Demirtas Arrested by Military Court

Nurettin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), was arrested on his arrival at Ankara airport the day before yesterday (17 December). He was on his way back from Germany, having traveled around Europe for meetings since 18 November.

Arrested as soon as he stepped out of the plane 

According to the ntvmsnbc.com news website, Demirtas was arrested by a military court. He stands accused of avoiding military service with a false medical report.

The Airforce Military Chief Prosecution had initiated an investigation into Demirtas for "using deception in order to avoid military service and abetting this crime."

According to the Radikal news, Demirtas was arrested on the passenger bridge when he left the plane which landed in the evening. He objected to the arrest by plain clothes policemen, saying, "I have been arrested for this reason before, why are you repeating this process?"

Cnnturk.com reported that Demirtas underwent a health check-up at 6:20 am yesterday (18 December) and was then taken to the military prosecution.

Türk: A political move 

Ahmet Türk, the parliamentary group leader of the DTP, strongly condemned the arrest, saying: "Our chairman was not going to flee the country; otherwise, he would not have returned to Turkey from abroad. This has to be seen as a political move." (NZ/AG)