Demirtaş responds to justice minister's 'Twitter restriction' statement

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Selahattin Demirtaş has responded to the justice minister's statement that "we are looking at" how to keep him from using Twitter to convey his opinions to the public.

"Do the arrangements after putting yourselves in our shoes. There is not much time left until you replace us eventually," he tweeted, apparently referring to the impending elections.

Imprisoned since late 2016, former co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) continues to influence the country's politics by using Twitter actively. Managing the account on behalf of Demirtaş, his family members and lawyers tweet almost daily to convey his opinions about the country's affairs.

Arguably the most popular Kurdish politician in the country, Demirtaş also frequently gives lengthy interviews to the press and writes articles for various outlets, through his attorneys.

When asked by reporters about the issue yesterday (January 12), Minister Bekir Bozdağ said, "In fact, (prisoners) do not have (access to social media). The convicted are visited by their lawyers. They are reflecting what they take from them, either in the lawyer visits or in the family visits, from their social media accounts."

The minister said, "They are not making a publication directly. However, what they tell their lawyers or their families is then shared outside, from their social media accounts. We see this as an important issue and we are working on it at the moment." (VK)