Turkish Court Ruling Sparks Debate: Will Demirtaş Be Released Under New Law?

The lawyer for jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş says his top priority is the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, but he also believes his client could be freed under a new “framework law.” Mahsuni Karaman, Demirtaş’s attorney, stated that while applying the ECHR’s decisions remains their primary goal, the legal scope of the recent legislative package offers another possible path to release. However, Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer, a legal expert, criticized the focus of the debate. He remarked, “We are discussing whether a person who should have been released long ago will benefit from an amnesty.” Demirtaş, the former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has been in prison since 2016. The ECHR has previously ruled that his detention was politically motivated and ordered his release.