HDP’s former co-chair Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş was arrested on 4 November 2016 together with co-chair Ms. Figen Yüksekdağ and seven other MPs. Mr. Demirtaş has been in Edirne F Type Prison since his arrest.
The next hearing of the main legal case for which Mr. Demirtaş has been under pretrial detention will be on July 16-17 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at the Sincan F Type Prison Campus in Ankara. This case of Mr. Demirtaş consists of the merging of 31 summary proceedings, each having separate criminal charges. All of these files consist of press statements and speeches that Mr. Demirtaş had made as a politician between 2016 and 2017.
The indictment prepared for Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş accuses him with the following charges: Establishing or administering an armed terrorist organization, making propaganda of a terrorist organization, praising a crime or criminal, inciting people to hatred and enmity, inciting people to commit crime, inciting people to violate the law, organizing and participating in meetings and marches in violation of the law on protest and assembly. The prosecution has asked for the sentencing of Mr. Demirtaş up to 142 years in prison.
The next hearing of the case against former co-chair Ms. Figen Yüksekdağ will be held on 26 July 2019 at 10:00 a.m at Sincan F Type Prison Campus in Ankara. The charges raised against Ms.Yüksekdağ are almost identical with those raised against Mr. Demirtaş: Establishing or administering
an armed terrorist organization, making propaganda of a terrorist organization, inciting people to hatred and enmity, inciting people to commit crime, inciting people to violate the law, participation in unlawful meetings and demonstrations. Her indictment consists of 8 separate files that were later merged into one single case. Almost all of the files are about the speeches she made as the leader of a political party.
These cases of HDP former co-chairs are surely of utmost importance for the political future of Turkey. We would like to invite you to observe them to make it clear that the international community is keenly following and deeply concerned with the destruction of democratic politics in the country.Observing these hearings will provide you with the opportunity to bear witness to the political and arbitrary use of the law to silence democratic opposition, suspension of the rule of law, and destruction of separation of powers.
In order to your access to the courtroom, please apply to the Adalet Bakanlığı Dış İlişkiler ve Avrupa Birliği Genel Müdürlüğü (Directorate General for International Law and Foreign Relations department at the Ministry of Justice). You or your Embassy in Ankara can send an e-mail to uhdigm@adalet.gov.tr address to receive accreditation. Fax and phone numbers of the Directorate General are as follows: Fax: 0090 312 219 45 23 Phone: 0090 312 414 80 51
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance for the necessary arrangements to observe the hearings.
Hisyar Ozsoy
Deputy Chair of HDP Responsible for Foreign Affairs
Member of Parliament
