Kurdish citizens in Turkey protested after Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and two-time presidential candidate, was sentenced to 42 years in prison. Authorities in 20 provinces imposed a ban on demonstrations, social gatherings, and public events for four days to curb Kurdish outrage. Demirtas, who has been in jail since 2016, was convicted on various charges, including links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The sentencing was related to riots in 2014 during the Islamic State’s attack on Kobane in northeastern Syria.
Turkish Kurds had demanded a corridor from Turkey’s Kurdistan region to provide assistance to the besieged city, but the government refused, leading to anger among the Kurdish population. The siege of Kobane resulted in a humanitarian disaster, with many casualties and displacements. Criticism against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the handling of the situation escalated into protests, which were met with excessive force by the authorities.
Despite supporting the protests on social media, Demirtas denounced the violence during the Kobane protests. He, along with other defendants, was convicted in a mass trial, with harsh sentences handed down. Opposition leaders criticized the verdict as an attempt by Erdogan to crush political dissent through the legal system.
Human Rights Watch also condemned the convictions as part of a larger campaign of persecution against Kurdish politicians. The trial was deemed to be a violation of human rights standards, with arbitrary procedures and unsubstantiated allegations being used as evidence.
The political landscape in Turkey, especially for Kurdish representation, has faced challenges due to these convictions. Erdogan’s promises of reconciliation and softening his stance were questioned by opposition leaders in light of the politicized convictions. The legacy of Demirtas as a potential negotiator with the PKK to end the separatist insurgency was overshadowed by his imprisonment and the government’s crackdown on Kurdish political parties.
