A Turkish court sentenced the former president of the HDP, Salahuddin Demirtas, to three years and six months in prison, despite two decisions issued against him by the European Court of Human Rights requiring his speedy release.
The new ruling was issued against Demirtaş for insulting Erdogan, due to statements he made in 2015.
While defending himself, Demirtaş said that he had been a candidate for the presidency twice and had been practicing politics for years. “There have been many insulting cases against me for my criticism of foreign policy decisions. Two separate indictments were issued for the two statements being criticized. The government criticized the president and the prime minister, not directly. You made a very simple statement. It is the duty of a democratic society to criticize the government ”.
Management evidence issued against Demirtaş due to a statement he made on December 24, 2015, at Ataturk Airport.
And the judge of the court considered that Demirtaş made statements targeting Erdogan and then Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
The judge stated that the statement made by the defendant exceeded the limits of opinion, interpretation and criticism, and could not be evaluated within the scope of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to his statement.
The court ruled that Demirtaş had committed the crime of defaming the victims.
In 2018 and in 2020, the European Court issued two decisions in which it considered that the arrest of Demirtaş, the former presidential candidate, was due to political reasons, and that he should be released immediately.
News agencies
