Justice minister says court to decide on Demirtaş release

ANTALYA

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said on Nov. 9 the decision on whether former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş will be released lies with the judiciary.

"This [case] is being heard at the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals 22nd Criminal Chamber... The assessment is currently before the court. We will all wait to see what decision the court will make," Tunç told reporters during a gathering in the southern city of Antalya.

His remarks came after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected Türkiye’s appeal against an earlier ruling that found the country had violated Demirtaş’s rights. Following the ECHR’s decision, Demirtaş’s lawyers filed an application for his release.

The former HDP leader was sentenced last year to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in the deadly 2014 protests that erupted when ISIL overran the Syrian town of Kobani. He has also been charged with other crimes including terrorism-related offences linked to PKK and insulting the president.

Tunç’s comments followed Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s statement earlier this week suggesting that Demirtaş’s release “would be beneficial for Türkiye.”

The minister also rejected criticism that Türkiye routinely ignores ECHR rulings. “That’s not true. There are decisions that not all countries comply with,” Tunç said.

"The average compliance rate among countries that are parties to the European Convention on Human Rights is 79 percent. In Türkiye, this rate is 91 percent."

The debate over Demirtaş’s case comes as the government advances its “terror-free Türkiye” initiative. Under the campaign, PKK has declared a ceasefire, announced its disbandment and said it is withdrawing its forces from Turkish territory to northern Iraq.

A parliamentary commission overseeing the peace initiative is considering sending a delegation to the İmrali prison island off Istanbul to meet with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Tunç, along with Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, is expected to brief the panel next week.

Tunç said the Justice Ministry has been working to address issues related to sick inmates and the evaluation of good behavior in prisons as part of the initiative.

"There would be steps taken as part of the process... [However] there is no question of bargaining, such as passing a law if the terrorist organization lays down its arms," he said. "This is not how a state governed by the rule of law operates. A state does not engage in such a bargaining process."