ISTANBUL (TURKEY) – Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the lengthy imprisonment of a former head of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party violated his rights. But he is not expected to be released due to a separate investigation.
Selahattin Demirtas has been in jail since November 2016 on terrorism-related charges. He faces a sentence of up to 142 years if found guilty in the main case against him.
The court said his detention had exceeded a reasonable period and his right to freedom had been violated, ordering the payment of compensation.
However, media reports said the ruling would not lead to his release due to a separate investigation and arrest order.
Last September, a court ruled that Demirtas should be released while his main trial continues. The Constitutional Court ruling concerns the detention for this period.
Prosecutors then launched a new probe and requested his arrest again after the lifting of the previous detention order. Demirtas denies the charges against him.
One of his lawyers, Mahsuni Karaman, said that while the ruling concerned his detention until last September, it should also be applicable to the second detention order.
“Because the second arrest order was based on the same reason it is no longer valid,” Karaman wrote on Twitter. “The second detention should be ended immediately.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
