The verdict was delivered in the case against Selahattin Demirtaş, former Co-Chair of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), for his speeches between 2015 and 2016.

Mersin 14th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Demirtaş to 1 year and 6 months in prison on the charge of ‘publicly degrading the government of the Republic of Turkey, judicial organs, military or police organisation’ as set out in Article 301 of the Penal Code and to 1 year and 6 months on the charge of ‘inciting people to hatred and hostility’ as set out in Article 216 of the Penal Code.

The court sentenced Demirtaş to 3 years in total and reduced the sentences, with discretionary mitigation, to 1 year and 3 months each, and did not reprieve the sentence.

Selahattin Demirtaş, who led the HDP's gender-parity dual leadership together with Turkish politician Figen Yüksekdağ between 2014 and 2018, has been innocently held in Edirne prison since 2016. While the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has already demanded his release several times, the Turkish government ignores the corresponding rulings.