Statement from Bülent Arınç, who visited Kavala and Demirtaş: 'In the coming days...'

Former TBMM Speaker Bülent Arınç, who had announced in recent days that he would visit Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş, has carried out these visits.

Arınç made statements to Lider Haber TV regarding the visits, which each lasted one hour.

Stating that the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitutional Court (AYM) must be implemented, Arınç said:

"Both are doing well; I saw that Demirtaş had lost some weight. As for the other, I had never met him face-to-face before, so I saw him here. Of course, my second sorrow regarding Kavala is this: his wife is a professor, Ayşe Buğra, who has worked at Boğaziçi University. I have not met her in person either. But beyond my respect for her devotion to her husband, she is the daughter of Tarık Buğra, whom we value very highly. Tarık Buğra is a person who has established a throne in our hearts with his novels. Setting aside his ideology or whatever, his greatest work is 'Küçük Ağa,' which TRT later turned into a series.

I must have watched it 20 years ago. It tells the story of an event that took place during the War of Independence. Tarık Buğra is from Akşehir. Whenever I went there, they would talk about him more than anyone else. I sent my regards to his wife as well. I mean, when his wife is such a respectable woman and the spouse of such an exceptional person, I have not been able to stomach the very ugly remarks calling her the 'wife of a terrorist' since that day. But they know what patience is."

"I BELIEVE THESE RELEASES WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE COMING DAYS"

Arınç said, "The only thing I will say for them is that the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights must be implemented. I have sent messages on this matter in the past, and I had hoped that they would be released before I left—because I had received permission about a month ago—and that I would visit them at their homes and have a coffee with them. That was not to be, but I believe that these releases will take place in the coming days."

Continuing his remarks, Arınç stated that both Demirtaş and Kavala are expecting their releases, saying:

"He even said, 'My wife has been waiting here for 4 days for my release.' Selahattin Bey told her, 'You go now.' I hope that if this happens, we will come together afterward. But neither of them holds any grudge or hatred toward anyone. I was actually surprised by this. If I were subjected to the same thing, if I were to get out of here, I would think about those who did this to me—that is how a normal person would think. They were subjected to such inhumane treatment in Diyarbakır Prison during the September 12 period, both men and women, that some of them might have thought about getting out sooner.

This group was patient and entered politics. Most of those who use that harsh and sharp language in politics are the ones who suffered that torment. But one of them, for example, Ahmet Türk, is trying to forget it. They say, 'I have focused only on peace for the integrity of this country.' Most of them are like this. We all need to respect them."

News Source: 12punto