On Charges of “Insulting” the President… Prison of Kurdish Opposition Leader Selahattin Demirtaş

A Turkish court has sentenced Kurdish opposition figure Selahattin Demirtaş to three years and six months in prison after convicting him of “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This came according to what the website of the Turkish opposition newspaper Artie Gershk reported on Monday, which was followed by Al-Ain Al-Ekhariya,

Demirtaş was arrested in November 2016 with his co-chairmanship of the then Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), Figen Yüksekdağ, on charges of supporting the activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey classifies as a “terrorist organization” and detained its leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

Since then, he has been charged with charges such as insulting Erdogan, leading a terrorist organization, membership of a terrorist organization, propaganda of terrorist organizations, violating the Meetings and Demonstrations Act, inciting hatred and hostility, inciting people to violate laws, and praising crime and the criminal.

Demirtaş faces charges that, if convicted, could lead to hundreds of years in prison, despite a previous ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, that he was imprisoned for political reasons and must be released immediately.

The newspaper clarified that the court that issued today’s ruling did not reduce it, and gave the maximum sentence.