Police stand guard at the Diyarbakır Courthouse in Türkiye’s southeast.
A court has approved a request to merge a criminal case against former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş with other proceedings involving similar charges, in a move that could see him face up to 15 years in prison.
A criminal court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır ruled to transfer the case file to the southern province of Mersin, where Demirtaş is being tried in a separate case. The request was submitted by Demirtaş’s lawyers, who sought to consolidate the proceedings due to similarities between the allegations.
The case concerns seven events Demirtaş allegedly attended in Diyarbakır in 2016, when he was serving as HDP co-chair.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of between nine and 15 years on charges including publicly inciting crime, inciting hatred and enmity, praising crime and criminals, participating in unlawful demonstrations and insulting state institutions.
