Devlet Bahçeli, chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main coalition partner, called for the release of long-imprisoned Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş in comments made to reporters Tuesday morning (November 4).
This major development comes on the heels of a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights declaring Demirtaş’s continued imprisonment a violation of his rights.
Demirtaş, former co-chair of the now-defunct pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), has been imprisoned since 2016 on charges related to the events of Turkey’s 2014 Kobani protests. The ECHR has demanded Demirtaş’s release on numerous occasions, and Turkey’s failure to comply with these rulings has resulted in infringement proceedings.
In early October, Turkey’s Justice Ministry made a final appeal against the ECHR’s decision. Yesterday (November 3), the ECHR announced that this appeal had been unsuccessful.
Erdoğan’s coalition partner calls for release of Demirtaş
The MHP chairman spoke to reporters early Tuesday as he exited a party meeting in Ankara.
Responding to the question “How do you evaluate the new Demirtaş ruling announced by the ECHR?” Bahçeli said:
“Legal avenues have reached their conclusion. His [Demirtaş’s] release would be beneficial for Turkey.”
Bahçeli’s comments are significant as they signal a potential schism between the MHP and Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has consistently refused to release Demirtaş in violation of ECHR decisions.
Solution process
Bahçeli’s Tuesday comments come against the backdrop of an ongoing solution process aimed at solving the Kurdish issue in Turkey. The process was initiated by Bahçeli himself in October 2024, and has thus far resulted in the disarmament of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), and a Turkish parliamentary commission with the stated goals of introducing democratizing reforms and improving civil rights for Kurdish citizens of Turkey.
However, topics such as the potential release of Demirtaş and the status of SDF-affiliated Kurdish militias in northern Syria have cast doubt over the viability of the solution process in recent weeks.
