Court rejects appeal for Demirtas' release after ECHR ruling

Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court has rejected appeal for the release of HDP former co-chair Selahattin Demirtas following the ECHR ruling that he should be released.

Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court has ruled “continuation of detention” for HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) former co-chair Selahattin Demirtas after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that his rights have been violated and his pre-trial detention should be terminated.

Ramazan Demir, a lawyer for Demirtas, wrote on his Twitter account that the Turkish court rejected the appeal for Demirtas’ release “because the ECHR ruling has not become definite”.

According to Demir, the court later conveyed a related notice to the Ministry of Justice and asked “Isn’t it?”

The lawyer added; “Words cannot explain this disgrace”.

Following the ECHR ruling for the release of the Kurdish politician, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued that the verdict was not “binding” for them.