Newsletters
Türkiye's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, a key parliamentary ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Tuesday it could be auspicious for Türkiye to release former pro-Kurdish party co-chair Selahattin Demirtas from prison.
The remarks came as Bahceli spoke to reporters following the MHP group meeting at the Turkish Parliament. Responding to a question on Demirtas, the former co-chair of Türkiye’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Bahceli said: “Selahattin Demirtas has reached a conclusion through legal means. His release will be auspicious for Türkiye.”
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled twice that Demirtas’ rights were violated, and Türkiye's final appeal was rejected Monday.
When asked about the court’s final decision in Parliament corridors, Bahceli reiterated: “The legal path has been completed. His release would be beneficial for Türkiye.”
The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM Party, known as HDP when Demirtas was leader, remains the third-largest party in Parliament.
Demirtas has been incarcerated since November 2016 on charges including inciting violence, spreading terrorist propaganda, and alleged links to the PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the EU, and the United States. The charges stem from:
Bahceli’s comments came a year after he publicly called for the start of a peace process with the PKK terrorist group.
The PKK terrorist organization announced Sunday, Oct. 26, that it has begun a “full withdrawal of its members” from Türkiye to Iraq as part of ongoing peace talks aimed at moving the process into its second phase.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the U.S., and the EU, convened its congress in May and declared its dissolution, following a February call by its imprisoned ringleader Abdullah Ocalan to end decades of attacks.
1 min read
The withdrawal announcement capped eight months of steps taken since Ocalan's Feb. 27 call. The group declared a ceasefire on March 1 to create what it described as “a calm and comfortable discussion environment.”
Between May 5 and 7, the PKK held its so-called 12th congress, where it formally decided to end its organizational structure and abandon its “armed struggle strategy.”
On July 11, a group of 30 PKK members, including 15 women, surrendered in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province and destroyed their weapons by throwing them into a burning cauldron.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants, and the elderly. PKK terrorists have used northern Iraq, near the Turkish border, to hide out and plan attacks on Türkiye.
1 min read
