The Party of European Socialists (PES) openly rejects the ruling by a Turkish court against Selahattin Demirtaş and 23 other politicians from our associate party Halklarin Demokratik Partisi (HDP) on the Kobani case. The PES believes this case to be a political trial against HDP and the democratic opposition.
PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck said:
“This decision is one more injustice against the democratic opposition in Turkey and especially against HDP and Kurdish people on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border. They were victims of the killings in Kobani and they now are being treated as perpetrators by the corrupt Turkish judiciary. This decision contravenes the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2020, which concluded that the detention of Selahattin Demirtaş was a cover to limit political pluralism. We call on Turkey to revert this decision, which stands in direct contradiction to Turkey’s constitution.”
The PES calls for the release of all HDP politicians unlawfully accused.
