DEM Party Co-Chair: Demirtaş to Attend Next DEM Party Congress

Habrler

Selahattin Demirtaş.

DEM Party co-chairman Tuncer Bakırhan said jailed former party leader Selahattin Demirtaş is expected to attend the party’s next general congress, adding a new political dimension to Türkiye’s evolving peace process as a newly approved legal framework moves towards implementation.

Bakırhan said the congress is expected to take place in the autumn and that Demirtaş, along with numerous other party figures and cadres currently abroad, is expected to participate.

He also said another 3,900 people would be released from prison once Türkiye’s “Law on Strengthening National Unity and Social Integration” comes into force.

He added that investigations were currently under way on 75,000 people, while another 50,000 were subject to confidential investigations, meaning the legislation could affect a total of 125,000 cases.

Under the law, people sentenced to life imprisonment before 2005 and accused of involvement in related activities would not initially be eligible for release. Their cases would be reviewed during a second phase, which is expected to cover around 900 people, Bakırhan said.

Bakırhan's remarks come as Ankara begins working through the practical consequences of a framework law approved by the parliament last week aimed at succeeding the peace process between PKK and the Turkish state.

On 10 August 2026, the Turkish parliament approved the bill, titled “Strengthening National Unity and Social Integration”, with 468 MPs voting in favour, 88 against and six abstaining.

Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the HDP, has been detained in Edirne Prison since 4 November 2016.



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