ANKARA – The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Selahattin Demirtaş was detained for political reasons, declaring a violation of his rights.

 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a new violation ruling regarding the detention of Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

 

After objections to Demirtaş’s arrest on November 4, 2016, were rejected, his lawyers applied to the ECtHR. In 2020, the ECtHR Grand Chamber ruled that the allegations used to justify his detention were insufficient. However, just before this decision, a new detention order was issued against Demirtaş on charges of "incitement." While he was still in prison, yet another detention order was issued.

 

Demirtaş’s lawyers argued that the Turkish government had failed to provide legal justification or evidence for this new charge and submitted a new application to the ECtHR, raising multiple legal concerns. They also argued that the detention had political motives. The ECtHR has now issued its decision on this application. In the ruling published on the Court’s official website, it concluded that this detention was also politically motivated.

 

The Court also examined the Constitutional Court’s delay in issuing a ruling on the detention. It found that the right to a prompt decision regarding deprivation of liberty was violated. The ECtHR ruled that Demirtaş’s right to liberty and security was breached.

 

The Court further determined that Demirtaş’s lawyers faced difficulties in accessing the case file, thereby violating his right to a proper defense.

 

Finally, the ECtHR ruled that the aim of the detention was to hinder Demirtaş’s political influence and that the detention served political purposes, issuing a violation decision on this basis as well.