Selahattin Demirtaş protests against degrading treatment

The Turkish Ministry of Justice has ordered Selahattin Demirtaş to take off his shoes on camera when entering and leaving his prison cell. The Kurdish politician refuses to comply with the degrading measure.

According to lawyer Ramazan Demir, his client Selahattin Demirtaş is being subjected to degrading treatment in Turkish custody and no longer leaves his cell for visits. Former HDP leader Demirtaş was arrested in 2016 and is being held in a high-security prison in Edirne.

Lawyer Demir announced today via X that the Turkish Ministry of Justice has ordered a new search measure against Demirtaş shortly before the local elections. According to the order, the Kurdish politician is to take off his shoes in front of a camera every time he leaves and enters his cell. Demirtaş considers this measure to be degrading and unacceptable and has declared that he will no longer leave his cell for visits from family members, lawyers and MPs, according to Ramazan Demir.