One of many insult trials against Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş has continued in Ankara. The subject of the trial heard on Friday is a charge of allegedly threatening and publicly defaming a public official. The alleged victim is the chief prosecutor of the Turkish capital, Prosecutor General Yüksel Kocaman, who is also the prosecutor dealing with the case. This fact alone shows that the proceedings are not based on an objective standard, Demirtaş's legal counsel stated, demanding that the proceedings be discontinued and acquittal.The request was rejected.

The background to Kocaman's complaint against Demirtaş is a statement by the former HDP co-chair, which he is said to have made in September during a meeting with his lawyer Cahit Kırkazak. Regarding the photos of the prosecutor's wedding at the Sheraton in Ankara, which had been circulated in the media shortly before, and which was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the chairman of the Court of Cassation, the minister of justice, the minister of the interior, the chief of general staff and the chairman of the election commission, among others, Demirtaş had said, "The gift bags that someone presses into your hands will not save you from prosecution." By saying this, Demirtaş is accused of having made the prosecutor a target as a "person in a counterterrorism office" among "supporters of terrorist organizations".

Kocaman wrote the controversial indictment in the so-called Kobanê trial against Selahattin Demirtaş and 107 other HDP-affiliated politicians. He is also considered the prosecutor who prevented the release of the 47-year-old politician. In the current insult trial, a prison sentence of between three and eight years is demanded for Demirtaş.

Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned in Edirne High Security Prison for more than four years, was not present in person in the courtroom, but was included via video conference. When the demanded sentence was read out, there were fierce reactions, as the indictment claims that Demirtaş is a member of "the terrorist organization PKK/KCK." The former co-chairman of the HDP and renowned human rights lawyer, who headed the Amed (Diyarbakır) branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) for many years, announced that he would file charges against Yüksel Kocaman for defamation. The trial was adjourned until April 9, and the court ordered Demirtaş to appear in person in the hearing to be held in Sincan district of Ankara.