DEM Party move regarding Selahattin Demirtaş
Following the ECHR's determination that Selahattin Demirtaş's detention was "political" and the 55,000 Euro compensation fine imposed on Turkey, the DEM Party has requested a general debate in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). Temelli and Koçyiğit stated that the ruling constitutes an interference in democratic politics.
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) determined in its ruling regarding the imprisoned former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş that his detention was carried out with political motives. On these grounds, the ECHR ruled that Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered the payment of 55,000 Euros in compensation to Demirtaş.
DEM PARTY TAKES ACTION WITH A REQUEST FOR A GENERAL DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT
Following the ECHR ruling, the DEM Party took action and applied to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). In the application submitted with the signatures of DEM Party Group Deputy Chairs Sezai Temelli and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, it was pointed out that the ECHR ruling has dimensions concerning political trials and the democratic rule of law. The party requested that this development be openly addressed on the Parliament's agenda.
The petition stated the following:
"In the case known to the public as the 'Kobane Conspiracy Case,' which is one of the most critical trials in Turkey's legal and political history, a total of 108 politicians, including HDP co-chairs, members of parliament, and party members, are being tried. This case is essentially a judicial process conducted for political purposes and has become one of the concrete indicators of a departure from the legal foundation. The sentencing of politicians who contribute to the democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue to decades of imprisonment in violation of the law, and the fact that many of them have been imprisoned for many years, is an unacceptable situation both in terms of the principles of the rule of law and from a conscientious and political perspective. The course of this case and the situation of those being tried at the current stage pose a serious obstacle to efforts aimed at strengthening social peace and the will for coexistence.
The European Court of Human Rights' decision dated July 8, 2025, in the case of Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey (No. 4), has once again confirmed the illegality of the detention of Selahattin Demirtaş and those within the scope of the Kobane Conspiracy Case; it has demonstrated the necessity for the immediate release of the politicians imprisoned in this case, primarily Mr. Demirtaş.
In this context, we request and demand the opening of a general debate for the Parliament to comprehensively reveal the legal dimensions of this case, its political background, its effects on democracy and human rights in Turkey, and the violations of national and international legal norms that occurred throughout the trial, as well as for the implementation of ECHR rulings and the immediate release of those being tried while in detention as a requirement of the decisions rendered."