Bahçeli says release of Demirtaş 'beneficial for Türkiye'

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said on Nov. 4 the release of former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş would be "beneficial for Türkiye."

His remarks came after a parliamentary meeting when reporters asked about the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) rejection of Türkiye's appeal against Demirtaş’s release.

"Legal avenues have reached a conclusion," Bahçeli said. "His release will be beneficial for Türkiye."

The ECHR’s decision confirmed its earlier ruling that Türkiye had violated Demirtaş’s rights. Following the ruling, Demirtaş said in a statement, "The ‘law of brotherhood’ among us is more valuable than anything else."

Demirtaş was sentenced in May to 42 years in prison in connection to a 2014 case on deadly protests that erupted in eastern Türkiye during the ISIL crisis in the Syrian town of Kobani, known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic. His former co-chair, Figen Yüksekdağ, received a sentence of 30 years and three months.

During his meeting with lawmakers, Bahçeli addressed the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, saying that a parliamentary commission established to oversee the process was nearing completion.

He suggested that sending MPs from the commission to the İmralı prison island off Istanbul to meet with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan could "strengthen the process." Bahçeli added that the MHP is “ready to participate" in such a delegation.

"The views, thoughts and opinions of the PKK’s founding leadership should be taken into account, and the fruitless discussions on the subject that have been going on for days should be ended," he said.

"We see the potential intolerance of those who are trying to hinder the steps towards a terror-free Türkiye by planting mines between Öcalan and Demirtaş."

At his party’s meeting, Bahçeli dismissed speculation of tension within the ruling People’s Alliance between the MHP and the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"The People’s Alliance is a sanjak, a homeland, a nation," he said. "The alliance will continue on its path."

Meanwhile, former HDP lawmaker Semra Güzel, imprisoned in 2022 on terrorism and forgery charges, was released on Nov. 3.