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Selahattin Demirtaş (born 10 April 1973) is a Kurdish politician, lawyer and author. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro- Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), serving alongside Figen Yüksekdağ from 2014 to 2018. Selahattin Demirtaş announced that he left politics after the May 2023 elections. Demirtaş was the presidential candidate of the HDP in the 2014 presidential election, coming in third place. He led the HDP to gather 13.1% at the June 2015 parliament elections and 10.7% in the snap elections in November 2015, coming 4th in each election. He has been imprisoned since 4 November 2016 and despite his imprisonment the HDP fielded Demirtaş as its candidate for the 2018 presidential election, running his campaign from prison. In a judgement given in December 2020, the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
judged that, given "the timing of Demirtaş continued detention (coinciding with an important constitutional referendum and the presidential election)" and Turkey's "systemic trend of “gagging” dissenting voices", Demirtaş's continued pre-trial detention's political purpose had been predominant".


Early life and education

Selahattin Demirtaş was born in Palu in 1973, where he completed both his primary and secondary education. From 1991 he studied maritime commerce and management at the
Dokuz Eylül University Dokuz Eylül University () (DEÜ) is a Public university, public research university in İzmir, Turkey. Founded in 1982, it is organized into 18 faculties. It holds the distinction of being the first university in Turkey to implement the probl ...
, where he would face political problems that would force him to leave school without finishing his degree. He returned to
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
and retook the university entrance exam in 1993, after which he enrolled at the Ankara University Law Faculty.


Professional career

After his graduation, Demirtaş worked as a freelance lawyer for a while. In 2000 he became a member of the executive committee at the Diyarbakır branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD). The IHD Chair at the time was Osman Baydemir who was elected as the mayor of Diyarbakır at the following local election. Demirtaş replaced him as the chair of the Diyarbakır IHD in 2004. During his term as chair, the association focused heavily on the increasing unsolved political murders in Turkey.


Early political career

He cites his experience at the funeral of politician and human right lawyer Vedat Aydın (1953–1991) as a political awakening:
I became a different person. My life's course changed … although I didn't fully understand the reason behind the events, now I knew: we were Kurds, and since this wasn't an identity I would toss away, this was also my problem."
From international observers often dubbed as a Kurdish Obama Demirtaş started his political career as a member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2007 at which time he stood as one of the ' Thousand Hope Candidates' for the DTP and several other democratic organizations in Turkey. He was elected to the 23rd Parliament and became the Parliamentary Chief Officer for the party at the age of 34. As such he supported the abolition of the restrictions against education in the
Kurdish language Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...
and demanded equal rights for Turks and Kurds in the Turkish constitution. When in October 2007 an article published in the Bolu Ekspress demanded politicians of the DTP to be killed for deaths caused by the
Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...
(PKK) he filed a complaint but the court decided it fell into the bounds of "freedom of thought" in 2008. Demirtaş then appealed to the ECHR for a violation of the 2 and 13 Articles of the
European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...
, but in 2015 the ECHR ruled in favor Turkey. The DTP was closed down by a Supreme Court order in 2009 for the parties alleged connections to the PKK, and the DTP MPs moved to the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The BDP held its first congress in 2010 and elected Selahattin Demirtaş and Gültan Kışanak as its new co-chairs. Demirtaş contested the 2011 elections as part of the joint ' Labor, Democracy and Freedom' list endorsed by the BDP and 18 different democratic political organizations, this time for Hakkari. He was re-elected to parliament as an independent. At a rally in the Kızıltepe district of
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
in November 2012, Demirtaş criticized the Turkish police for intervening after marchers carried posters of
Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...
, saying "I call on you, those who are not bothered about the Kurds’ killer Evren’s statue being erected r byschools named after Evren. If they urdscannot hang Öcalan’s poster in Kurdistan, then where would they hang it? We will go further and erect his statue." In 2019, Demirtaş defended his statement in court, arguing that he was responding to how posters were met with panzers and truncheons, and that he is opposed to erecting statues of Öcalan.


Opposition leader


Peace process 2013

Demirtaş was the co-chair of BDP during the period when the
peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...
and negotiations kick-started in Turkey. He was one of the BDP politicians who met Öcalan on Imrali island during the peace negotiations.


2014 Presidential campaign

In 2014 Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were elected as the co-chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) – a new initiative originating from a three-year-old coalition of the BDP and various different political parties and organization under the auspices of the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK) - for the 2014 presidential elections of Turkey, being one of three candidates and hoping to attract left-wing voters. He came third with 9.77% of the vote.


2014 Municipal elections

He stressed that
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
and a women's quota is preeminent in their party program for the elections and announced in October 2013, that for the Metropolis
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
a female mayor was planned. In the Municipal elections of 2014, Gültan Kisanak was elected the Mayor of Diyarbakir, and Februnye Akyol Co-Mayor of
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
.


June 2015 general elections

Demirtaş was co-leader along with Figen Yüksekdağ during the June 2015 Turkish general election, the party's first campaign in a general election. The HDP came in fourth place with 13.12% of the vote, breaking for the first time the 10%
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...
to enter the parliament, sending 80 HDP representative there out of 550 seats. The election results were largely perceived to be a surprise for the opposition, with the HDP having surpassed the election threshold by a healthy 3% of the vote despite many pollsters claiming that it was hovering at the 10% boundary. HDP co-leader Demirtaş was widely seen as the victor of the election, in the sense that as well as exceeding many vote share projections, his party won the same amount of MPs (80 seats) as the
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
. The international press characterized Demirtaş as the 'Kurdish Obama' and supporters of the HDP took to the street to celebrate their success on the evening of polling day. Celebrating the victory, Dermirtaş stated: "From now on, the HDP is Turkey's party. HDP is Turkey, Turkey is HDP." Other commentators noted the rising difficulties ahead, Demirtaş risking to be undercut by Occalan's political influence, the mechanical rise of anti-Kurdish sentiment among Turkey nationalist forces, and the need to not alienate tactical voters.


Peace talks collapse

In July 2015, the peace process initiated by AKP and PKK leadership and facilitated by HDP collapsed. Demirtaş attributes this collapse to AKP, responding to the June election's votes loss to following parties, loss of its governing majority, and relative electoral defeat. According to Demirtaş, AKP bleeding votes in polls lead this party to reignite the war against PKK. In July 2015, observing an increase in violence between PKK-affiliated parties and Turkish authorities, Demirtaş opposed violence from both parties and called for a higher political autonomy in South-East Turkey.


March on Cizre

When in early September 2015 the Turkish authorities imposed a curfew on the city of
Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...
HDP parliamentarians around Demirtas went on a march on Cizre, but were prevented from entering the city by the Turkish authorities who alleged security concerns. He was allowed in the city only after the curfew was lifted on the 12 September.


November 2015 general election

In August 2015, two months after the June 2015 general elections and one month after the return to military confrontation with PKK, early general election were announced for November 2015. HDP, led by Demirtaş, came third, securing 10,7% of the vote, barely passing the parliament's 10% threshold.


2016 to 2018 Presidential campaign

In May 2016, the Turkish parliament revoked the parliamentary immunity for several HDP politicians including the HDP leadership. Following the
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...
, Demirtaş stated in his statement on 16 July that he was against the coup and that the attempt was an indication that there was still no democracy in Turkey. On July 25, Erdogan invite and met with major opposition leaders, except HDP leadership and Dermirtaş. On November 4, 2016, few months after the
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...
and in the mist of large scale purges, Demirtaş was arrested along with Figen Yüksekdağ and other HDP MPs, accused of spreading propaganda for militants fighting the Turkish state. Demirtaş stated he is not a "manager, member, spokesperson, or sympathizer" of the armed PKK group. Demirtaş was officially announced as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) on May 4, 2018, for the presidential election, after members of the party had hinted at his candidacy weeks in advance. Party leader Pervin Buldan declared that Demirtaş, the jailed former co-chair of the HDP, would be leading a five-party "Kurdish alliance" into the general election. He received 8.4% of the votes.


Legal prosecution and detention


Initial arrest and motive

Demirtaş was arrested on 4 November 2016. The criminal indictment against Demirtaş alleged that in a public statement on the 6 October, the HDP raised support for protests against claimed approach of the Turkish Government shows towards the
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
(IS) attack on Kobane. The HDP was blamed for the Kobanî protests in 2014, which resulted in the death of over 50 people despite it having called for an investigation on the events leading to the deaths in parliament which was turned down by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
(MHP). President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Demirtaş for provoking protests, and said that all Kurdish people are the citizens of
Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and no one can attempt to build a state for them. Demirtaş's repeatedly stated opposition to both PKK and TSK violences, calling killed Turkish soldiers "the children of this country, our children", and declaring "No one has anything to win from a civil war in Turkey. Just look at Syria and Iraq.” His prosecution also used wiretaps as evidence to show relation with the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which the prosecution views as a part of the PKK.


Main prosecution and appeals

On 18 January 2017, Turkish prosecutors announced they were seeking a 142-year prison sentence for Demirtaş and according to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', more than hundred charges have been brought against Demirtaş. On the 7 September 2018 he was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months for a speech he had made at a Newroz celebration on the 20 March 2013.


2018 and 2020 ECHR's judgements

On 20 November 2018 the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
(ECHR) ruled Demirtaş should be released from preliminary detention, and ordered Turkey to pay him 25'000 Euros. On 30 November 2018 a court in Turkey ruled he shall remain detained despite the ECHR ruling to release him. According to the verdict by the Turkish court, the ruling of the ECHR was not definitive and therefore not binding. The sentence he received the 7 September 2018 was upheld on 4 December 2018 by an appeal court. On the 31 December 2018 the lawyers of Demirtaş appealed the sentence at the Constitutional Court. On December 22, 2020, the ECHR condemns Turkey and called again for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş. The Court deemed the lifting of the parliamentary immunity and the subsequent pre-trial detentions as politically motivated because this step came only after the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) had lost its majority in
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.


Other prosecutions

On 17 March 2021, the state prosecutor Bekir Şahin demanded for him and 686 other HDP politicians a five-year ban to engage in politics together with a closure of the HDP due to alleged organizational cooperation with the PKK. A few days later on the 22 March 2021, Demirtas was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment for having insulted the Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
by mentioning he had "fluttered from corridor to corridor" trying to meet the Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
during a summit in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The remarks were made after Erdogan's return from Russia at the Atatürk Airport in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
.


Detention

Since 4 November 2016 he is detained in the prison in the F-Type prison
Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
, a border town near Bulgaria and Greece, far away from
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
in South-Eastern Turkey, where his family lives at. His wife visits him once a week. ECHR called for releasing Demirtaş and stated that his arrest in 2016 violated his freedom of speech and the right of joining to the elections. According to HDP speaker Saruhan Oluç, he is not allowed to receive visits by parliamentarians of the HDP. Since the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
his visitors rights are restricted to non-contact visits. As his wife informed the public on in an interview with Ismail Küçükkaya on FOX TV about it, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) initiated an investigation on the program due to her remarks. In November 2022, he was flown to Diyarbakir where he was shortly allowed to visit his father in hospital. After the short visit, he was brought back to Edirne. His cellmate was for years the fellow HDP politician Abdullah Zeydan who was released in January 2022. In March the same year, the arrested mayor of Diyarbakir Adnan Selçuk Mizrakli became his new cellmate. After extending his mandate in 2023 elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that releasing Demirtaş would not be possible under his governance. However, in March 2025, it has been reported that Turkey is currently engaged in discussions about the potential release of Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned since 2016. This debate has arisen amidst conciliatory gestures from President Erdoğan and his allies, signaling a possible shift in the government's approach towards Kurdish issues. Recent remarks by figures close to Erdoğan have fueled talks about Demirtaş's release, suggesting a move towards reconciliation and addressing long-standing grievances.


Personal life

Demirtaş is of Zaza origin and he knows the
Zaza language Zaza (endonym: , , , , , or , ) is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken primarily in eastern Turkey by the Zazas, who are mostly considered as Kurds, and in many cases identify as such. The language is a part of the Zaza–Gorani language ...
. Demirtaş was asked "Aren't you Zaza?" in a programme. In response to this question, he defined himself as "Kurdish Zaza". Demirtaş is married to Başak Demirtaş and is the father of two girls, Delal and Dılda. His parents are Tahir and Sadiye Demirtaş and he has six siblings. Demirtaş has faced threats due to his political activity and on November 22, 2015, he survived an assassination attempt.


Electoral history


Presidential


Parliamentary


Local


Publications

In detention, he wrote a book titled '' Seher'' containing short stories. The Turkish edition of ''Seher'' has reportedly sold more than 200,000 copies. He has also wrote the book '' Devran'' in prison. In 2020 the book ''Leylan'' was published and Demirtaş acknowledged he would prefer a career in literature than the one in politics. In 2023, a short story by Demirtaş titled ''My Handsome One'' appeared in '' Kurdistan +100: Stories from a Future State'', an anthology of short stories by thirteen contemporary Kurdish writers.


Awards

In November 2019, the
Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...
awarded him their Political Courage Award. His wife Başak Demirtaş attended the award ceremony as he was still imprisoned at the time. 2022 Political courage Award by the Institute François Mitterrand. Hişyar Özsoy of the HDP attended the award ceremony on Demirtaş's behalf.


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demirtas, Selahattin 1973 births Living people Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Democratic Society Party politicians Deputies of Diyarbakır Deputies of Hakkâri Democratic Regions Party politicians People from Palu, Elazığ Leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey Human rights lawyers Turkish Kurdish politicians People expelled from public office 21st-century male writers Kurdish jurists Prisoners and detainees of Turkey Political prisoners in Turkey Zaza people