HDP appeals to ECHR for arrested co-chairs

HDP appealed to European Court of Human Rights for its arrested co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. 

HDP Press Office released a statement, informing that HDP committee stated in the application that there is no other way than to apply to the ECHR, since Turkish Constitutional Court doesn't carry out any examination. 

HDP Press Office provided the following information:

“An application is made to the ECHR concerning the unlawful arrest of our co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ by the committee consisting of Deputy co-chair Saruhan Oluç, Group Deputy Chairperson Filiz Kerestecioğlu, MPs Osman Baydemir, Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Mithat Sancar, our Strasbourg representative Faik Yağızay and lawyer Reyhan Yalçındağ.”

Violation of right to free election

In the application, it is stated that HDP co-chairs are jailed pending trial in the process of referendum because of the rallies which they attended as the representatives of the electorate and the party and the press conferences they held and this situation violates right to freedom and security, freedom of expression and right to free election which are protected by European Convention on Human Rights and the Constitution. 

It is also noted that HDP offices and vehicles had been attacked 22 times in 2014, 106 times in 2015 before the election on June 7, 36 times in 2016. It is stated that since July 22, 2015, 9796 people had been detained and 2906 people had been arrested in the operations against HDP, DBP and their constituents and since July 2016, 12 MPs including the co-chairs have been arrested, a total of 5471 people have been detained and 1482 people have been arrested.

The constitutional court hasn't carried out any proceeding for 95 days 

In the application, it is pointed out that arbitrary and systematic detentions and arrests have a political purpose, aiming to prevent an influential campaign for urging people to vote “no” in the referendum.

The committee also noted that the constitutional court hasn't carried out any proceeding for 95 days and urged the ECHR to implement its own court practices and universal rules of law.