The co-chairs of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, visited Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş in the high-security prison in Edirne. Following the meeting with the former co-chair of the HDP, they called for the immediate implementation of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the release of all those detained in the so-called “Kobane trial.”
In addition to Demirtaş, the party leaders also met with Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, the former mayor of Amed (tr. Diyarbakır). After visiting the prison, they issued a joint statement in front of the detention center.
Hatimoğulları explained that both Demirtaş and Mızraklı remain hopeful about a possible peace process. She recalled that the arrests of leading HDP politicians in November 2016 marked the beginning of a “dark chapter” in Turkish politics. Despite the ECtHR rulings calling for their release, Demirtaş and others affected remain in custody, she noted.
“There is no legal basis for these detentions. Failure to implement the ECtHR judgments means that Turkey is flouting international law,” said Hatimoğulları. “At a time when there is talk of peace and democratization, implementing these decisions would be one of the most important steps.” She called for the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, and all other jailed politicians in the Kobani trial: “They cannot support the peace process from behind prison walls, their voices are needed outside.”
“A peace process requires trust”
Tuncer Bakırhan also reiterated the demand for the release of the imprisoned politicians. He said it is contradictory to talk about a new political process while people whose innocence has long been confirmed remained in prison. “If we really want to start a new process of peace and democratization, then those who could help shape this process must no longer be held behind bars. Their place is not in prison, but in society,” Bakırhan said. He called the continued detention of the defendants in the Kobanê trial “unacceptable” and called for confidence-building steps on the part of the government.
Visit to Yüksekdağ planned
After their statement in front of the prison in Edirne, Hatimoğulları and Bakırhan announced that they would then visit former HDP co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ in Kandıra prison.