Turkish Judiciary Issues New Ruling Against Selahattin Demirtaş

PUKMEDIA Archive

Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş.

A court in Türkiye’s southern province of Mersin has sentenced Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş to more than one year and five months in prison on charges of “insulting the president”.

The final hearing in the case against Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was held on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, at the Fourth Criminal Court in Mersin. The court handed down a sentence of one year, five months, and ten days in relation to statements he made between 2015 and 2016.

Demirtaş, who is currently held in Edirne Prison, did not attend the hearing and was represented by his lawyers. His defence team requested additional time to prepare a response to the prosecution’s arguments, but the judge rejected the request, saying sufficient time had already been granted.

Following the decision, Demirtaş’s lawyers said his right to a fair trial had been violated and requested a change of judge. This request was also denied. In its ruling, the court said Demirtaş’s request to attend the hearing in person had been refused for “security reasons”.

Demirtaş has been imprisoned in Edirne since November 2016 and faces multiple cases, including a 42-year sentence in what is known as the “Kobani case”.

The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly called for Demirtaş’s release, describing the charges against him as politically motivated, but the government of Türkiye has rejected those calls.

The latest sentence comes as the Turkish authorities have announced a renewed “peace process” aimed at addressing the Kurdish issue in the country.


PUKMEDIA