Request of release for Selahattin Demirtaş

* Photo: Archive - bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The attorneys of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş have appealed to court and requested his release.

The application of the attorneys has come shortly after the Constitutional Court concluded that the right to personal liberty and security of Demirtaş was violated as the period that he had served behind bars as an arrestee exceeded the reasonable duration foreseen by the law.

The recent request for release has been submitted on the ground of this Constitutional Court ruling of right violation.

'His imprisonment needs to be ended'

As reported by Ferit Aslan from Medyascope, Demirtaş's attorneys Mahsuni Karaman, Benan Molu, Ramazan Demir, Aygül Demirtaş Gökalp and Sertaç Buluttekin have applied to court for his release.

The application of the attorneys has noted that "Demirtaş was arrested as part of an investigation where he was not a suspect and within the scope of a file where he was already standing trial at the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court." Accordingly, the attorneys have requested "an end to his arrest that is violating his right to personal liberty and security" by taking the related Constitutional Court ruling in consideration.

What happened?

In its ruling dated June 9, the Constitutional Court has concluded that the right to personal liberty and security of Selahattin Demirtaş guaranteed by the Article 19 of the Constitution has been violated as the period that he served behind bars as an arrestee exceeded reasonable duration.

A copy of the Constitutional Court ruling was sent to the Ministry of Justice and the Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court for information.

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.

(TP/SD)