Decision reached on Selahattin Demirtaş's release request: Court explains its reasoning

The request for release filed by the DEM Party for former HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ has been rejected by the court.

According to a report by T24, the application filed by the DEM Party for the former co-chairs following the 'rights violation' ruling was rejected by the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court.

The court cited as its reasoning that the enforcement process regarding the ECHR rulings issued concerning Selahattin Demirtaş is still ongoing and has not yet been finalized.

The court emphasized that the defendants, including Demirtaş, cannot be considered detained due to the duration of their pre-trial detention, noting that it had issued the rulings regarding these defendants itself, thereby rendering them convicted detainees.

The court also argued that, according to Court of Cassation precedents, detention following a conviction cannot be counted toward the duration of pre-trial detention. 

The court kept the right to appeal open.

THE INCIDENT

Selahattin Demirtaş, the former HDP Co-Chair who was detained and arrested on November 4, 2016, and for whom the ECHR had previously issued two violation rulings and the Constitutional Court (AYM) one, calling for his release, received another violation ruling from the ECHR on July 8.

Following this, the DEM Party filed a release application for Demirtaş, who is being held in Edirne, and other individuals.

In a statement issued by the DEM Party's Law and Human Rights Commission, it was announced that a request had been submitted to the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court for the release of former HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, as well as Central Executive Committee (MYK) members.

The statement, which recalled that the ECHR had once again ruled on July 8 that Selahattin Demirtaş's rights had been violated, included the following: "In a case file determined by the ECHR ruling to be devoid of legal basis, a release decision must be issued immediately for all our friends, in adherence to the principle of the rule of law."

News Source: 12punto