عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

European Court of Human Rights Pressures Turkey to Release Demirtaş

Selahattin Demirtas, leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Selahattin Demirtas, leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
TT
TT

European Court of Human Rights Pressures Turkey to Release Demirtaş

Selahattin Demirtas, leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Selahattin Demirtas, leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) continues to call on Turkey to release Selahattin Demirtaş.

The court, which previously ruled for Demirtaş's immediate release, asked whether the imprisonment is based on reasonable doubt, grounds and time, as well as whether it violates the right to freedom of expression.

In other questions, the rights court asked Turkey whether his arrest was politically motivated and whether Article 18 of the European Convention of Human Rights was violated through his arrest.

The ECHR also questioned whether Turkey's top court is an effective legal means in Demirtaş's case.

Ramazan Demir, one of Demirtaş's lawyers, said that the defense request came due to the Constitutional Court's delay in issuing a ruling on Demirtaş's imprisonment.

"These questions are asked for the first time in this case and it's very significant," Demir tweeted on Feb. 1.

Another lawyer, Benan Molu, said that the ECHR asked whether Turkey's top court looked into the politician's appeal that was submitted on Nov. 7, 2019.

According to the ECHR's Grand Chamber, Demirtaş's pre-trial detention since Nov. 4, 2016 had sent "a dangerous message to the entire population" that sharply narrowed free democratic debate.

Demirtaş faces a sentence of up to 142 years in prison if convicted of being the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) over his actions during the Kobane protests in 2014.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
TT
TT

Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)

Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78.

She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian group Hamas took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead.

Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed Katzir’s death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause.

Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzir said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.”

Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by fighters who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity.

She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.