SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Jailed Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to ensure victory in the next election by “illegally” trying to ban the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Demirtas, former HDP co-leader, has been behind bars since 2016 despite calls from the European Court of Human Rights for his release.
“The main reason they are trying to shut down the HDP is to let the People’s Alliance win the upcoming election,” now scheduled for 2023, Demirtas told AFP.
He was referring to the electoral alliance between Erdogan’s AKP and its ultra-nationalist junior partner, the MHP, who are slowly losing support in most opinion polls.
The HDP, the third largest group in the Turkish parliament, now faces the risk of being shut down after Turkey’s top public prosecutor accused it of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a filing with the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.
“The reason alone is enough to make the case [against the HDP] illegal and illegitimate,” AFP quoted Demirtas as saying.
The Kurdish politician is jailed in Edirne prison, northwestern Turkey.
“I hope the Constitutional Court will not give credence to this irrational behavior and will reject the case,” said Demirtas, a two-time challenger to Erdogan in presidential elections.
He called the prosecution of his party a symbol of Turkey’s “immune democracy and repressive mentality,” according to AFP.
The HDP has been under pressure for years over alleged links to the PKK, who have been waging a deadly insurgency against the state since 1984.
Dozens of HDP lawmakers and leaders have been detained and jailed on terror and other charges which they deny and rights groups view as politically motivated.
“No matter what kind of obstacles are put in our way, our politics will continue to grow,” AFP quoted Demirtas as saying.
“The only thing I am sure of is that we will not give up on the right to democratic politics and governance.”
