Former co-chair of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtaş, faces a prison sentence ranging from one year and three months to seven years on charges of “insulting the president” in a series of cases. Demirtaş did not attend the hearing at the Mersin 14th Criminal Court of First Instance, but his lawyer was present. The court combined the cases related to two speeches in Mersin and Diyarbakır; the request to combine the Ankara and Mardin cases was rejected. The prosecutor requested that Demirtaş be punished consecutively. The plaintiff’s lawyer, however, requested separate penalties for each action. The court decided to continue Demirtaş’s current status and postponed the hearing to January 6.
November 27, 2025
Diken