Medine Mamedoğlu
A trial in southeastern Turkey against Selahattin Demirtaş, the former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was postponed once again on Monday. Demirtaş is facing charges of “insulting state institutions and security forces” over a speech he delivered during a “Peace Against War” rally in the city of Batman in 2016.
The seventh hearing of the case was held at the Batman 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance, but the court adjourned proceedings, citing the need to address procedural deficiencies.
Demirtaş, currently imprisoned on separate charges, informed the court that he would not attend via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBIS) from the correctional facility where he is being held. His lawyer, Mahsuni Karaman, participated remotely from the courthouse in Diyarbakır, another major city in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast.
In his defense statement, Karaman repeated previous arguments and again requested that this case be merged with two others in which Demirtaş is facing similar charges—one in the southern city of Mersin and the other in Diyarbakır.
“The case file in Mersin is currently at the appeals court, and the court in Diyarbakır is awaiting the outcome of that decision,” Karaman told the Batman court. “Eventually, both your case and the one in Mersin will be merged in Diyarbakır. Given that the most recent alleged offense took place there and considering the legal provisions on successive offenses, merging the cases in Diyarbakır would be more legally appropriate. We reiterate our request for consolidation.”
Following the defense, the prosecutor also supported the merger request, recommending that the court write to the Diyarbakır 18th Criminal Court of First Instance to reiterate the request for consolidation. The court agreed to postpone the trial until April 7, 2026, to resolve pending procedural matters.
