Demirtaş's hearing adjourned to November

The hearing of HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has been adjourned to 24 November after he was denied access to the court for refusing to be brought in handcuffs.

The third hearing of the lawsuit against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş was set to be held 35th Penal Court of First Instance in Ankara today.

HDP Co-chair is jailed since 4 November 2016 and he was set to appear in court for the first time since his imprisonment as he has attended the hearings so far through the video conferencing system SEGBİS. He refused to make his defense through SEGBİS and was therefore due to appear in court today.

However, Demirtaş has not been taken to the court, 245 days after his imprisonment, because he refused to comply with the imposition of handcuffs during his referral to court. Demirtaş's lawyers withdrew from the hearing when he wasn't allowed to attend.

The court board announced the decision following the leave of the lawyers from the hearing room, adjourning the hearing to 24 November, 2017.

The court ruled for the preparation of the video conferencing system SEGBİS for Demirtaş's attendance in the next hearing, and assignment of an expert on the case from the faculties of law from the Ankara University, Gazi University, Hacettepe University, Bilkent University, Başkent University, Ufuk University and Atılım University.