Imprisoned Kurdish leader in TV appeal
Demirtas has been held since November 2016 on charges of links to outlawed Kurdish militants
Turkey’s leading Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas on Sunday appeared on state television from his prison cell to denounce the government’s “repressive regime”, ahead of the presidential election next weekend.
Demirtas, a former coleader of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and presidential candidate, has been held since November 2016 on charges of links to outlawed Kurdish militants.
Wearing a dark suit, he appeared on state-run TRT in a pre-recorded speech from his prison cell in the northwest province of Edirne.
“The only reason why I am here is that the AKP is scared of me,” Demirtas said, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In the run up to the election campaign, TRT has been criticised for giving full coverage of Erdogan’s speeches while ignoring other party candidates, in particular Demirtas.
The 45-year-old, who was chosen by his party to challenge Erdogan in the June 24 elections and is often dubbed as the Kurdish Obama, is accused of being member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.
Complaining of a “repressive regime” led by Erdogan, the Kurdish leader said: “What we are passing through is only one fragment of a one-man regime.”
He told the electorate that they would decide with their vote whether or not to be in favour of freedom.
“I have no doubt that you will be on the side of freedom ... We will get hold of our country from the edge of a cliff,” he said.
Demirtas claimed he would be acquitted of all charges as soon as possible, adding that he was not the only victim of “lawlessness.”
If convicted Demirtas risks up to 142 years in jail.