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Kurdish-oriented Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) filed a release request for imprisoned politicians then co-Chair of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas and then co-leader Figen Yuksekdag and others, following the European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) latest ruling.
In a statement, the party said, "The ECtHR’s July 8, 2025, ruling once again determined that the detention of Selahattin Demirtas was politically motivated."
The application was submitted to the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court, seeking the release of all politicians detained under the "Kobani trial," which started after Demirtas urged citizens to take to the streets in 2014, during that unauthorized protests claimed the lives of 53 people, including two police officers, left hundreds of people injured and caused extensive damage to property.
Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara launched an investigation in 2019 into Demirtas and Yuksekdag, who have been in jail since November 2016 after they were arrested along with several other HDP then co-Chair Demirtas lawmakers on terror-related charges.
Yuksekdag was removed from her seat in the Turkish Parliament after a court upheld her initial conviction on Sept. 22, 2016, on terrorism charges. She was detained in November 2016 along with 13 other HDP lawmakers on terrorism-related charges.
Demirtas and Yuksekdag faced charges for several offenses, including violating the unity and integrity of the state and inciting people to murder and loot. The charges refer to protests in 2014, which claimed the lives of 53 people, including two police officers, left hundreds of people injured and caused extensive damage to property.
The protests erupted across Türkiye during the Eid al-Adha holiday on Oct. 6 2014, a day after the terrorist group Daesh entered the Syrian border town of Ain al-Arab. The protests occurred right after Demirtas urged citizens to take to the streets.
On Sept. 2, 2019 an Ankara court decided to release Demirtas while he awaited trial.
In September 2018, Demirtas was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after he was convicted of spreading terrorist propaganda, leading a terrorist organization and public incitement to hatred and hostility.
The ECtHR ruled on July 8 that Demirtas' detention violated the European Convention on Human Rights by being based on political grounds.
The court found that Demirtas' right to defense and access to his case file were obstructed, insufficient legal justification was provided for his detention, and serious concerns existed regarding judicial independence in the process.
The court noted that decisions to continue Demirtas' detention were linked to his political speeches, but determined that sufficient connection between these speeches and the charges could not be established.
The ruling stated that the primary purpose of Demirtas' arrest was "to prevent his political activities," and that the measures taken aimed to "stifle political debate" and "narrow the scope of democratic discussion."
The ECtHR ordered Türkiye to pay Demirtas €3,245 ($3,793) in pecuniary damages, €32,500 in non-pecuniary damages, and €20,000 in court costs. The decision will become final if no appeal is filed within three months, and its implementation will be monitored by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.
The ECtHR had previously ruled in 2020 that Demirtas' detention served political purposes. The implementation process of that decision remains ongoing before the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.
In its statement regarding the application, the DEM Party said: "We have requested the release of former HDP Co-Chairs and Central Executive Committee members who have been unlawfully held hostage for years in the Kobani conspiracy case from the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court."
"The European Court of Human Rights, with its July 8, 2025 decision in Selahattin Demirtas v. Türkiye (No. 4), has once again determined that the Kobani conspiracy case is contrary to law and that Selahattin Demirtas and therefore our other detained politician colleagues' detention is politically motivated," the party said.
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