The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has again urged Turkey to immediately release opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş, warning that his prolonged detention violates rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
In an interim resolution adopted on March 6 and made public on March 12, the committee “expressed its profound concern” that Demirtaş has been continuously deprived of his liberty since November 2016, despite the ECtHR’s 2020 ruling that his detention pursued “the ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate.”
Demirtaş, a human rights lawyer and the former co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was arrested on November 4, 2016 along with other HDP members, on charges including “dissemination of terrorist propaganda” and alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK has led a bloody war in Turkey’s southeast since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
The HDP faced substantial pressure from the Turkish government, including the arrest of its members and leaders. In March 2021 the State Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals filed a case with the Constitutional Court demanding the closure of the HDP, alleging ties with the PKK and actions against the unity of the state. As of October 2023 the closure case was still ongoing, with the Constitutional Court yet to deliver a final verdict.
Demirtaş’s arrest has been widely criticized as politically motivated. In May 2024 Demirtaş was sentenced to 42 years in prison for allegedly undermining state unity during the Kobani protests of 2014.
Kobani, a town in northern Syria, became a focal point in 2014-2015 during conflict between Kurdish forces, primarily the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants. The Kurdish forces’ defense of the town received widespread attention and led to demonstrations of solidarity among Kurds in various regions, including Turkey, where expressions of solidarity with Kobani have often been met with scrutiny, particularly in a political climate where Kurdish political movements are closely monitored by the state.
The committee “exhorted” Turkish authorities to ensure his “immediate release” and called for urgent action by Turkey’s Constitutional Court to decide on Demirtaş’s pending application challenging his detention.
It also urged the Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court to issue a reasoned decision explaining its May 2024 ruling convicting Demirtaş and co-defendant Figen Yüksekdağ, another former HDP leader.
The committee further “deplored the absence of a decision by the Constitutional Court” on Demirtaş’s case, which has been pending since November 2019, and called on the Turkish authorities to “take all possible steps” to ensure a prompt ruling.
The ECtHR had previously ruled that Turkey’s actions violated multiple provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court found that Demirtaş was detained without sufficient evidence to support a reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offense, violating his right to liberty under Article 5(1) and (3). It also determined that his imprisonment pursued a political purpose rather than a legitimate legal one, violating Article 18 in conjunction with Article 5. Furthermore, the court found that his right to freedom of expression was unlawfully restricted in violation of Article 10 and that his detention made it “effectively impossible” for him to participate in parliamentary activities, violating Article 3 of Protocol No. 1.
The Committee of Ministers emphasized that in light of the ECtHR’s ruling, Turkey must prove that Demirtaş’s continued detention is not based on the same factual context as the one already ruled unlawful. It stated that “in the meantime,” Turkish authorities should consider alternative measures to detention until a final decision is made. The committee further “expressed its resolve to consider further action” if Turkey does not comply by its June 2025 meeting.
Critics argue that his imprisonment is part of a broader crackdown on opposition figures and a tactic to silence political dissent.
The Council of Europe, an international human rights body with 46 member states, including Turkey, is responsible for overseeing the execution of ECtHR judgments through its Committee of Ministers.
