While the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has demanded the release of Selahattin Demirtas, a former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Turkish courts convicted him of spreading terrorist propaganda, which some analysts and rights groups view as Ankara attempting to misuse the country’s counterterrorism laws to crack down on political dissidents.

Demirtas was detained on terrorism charges and was convicted in another terrorist-related case in an effort to dodge the European court’s pressure on the country.

“It is quite obvious that anti-terrorism laws and laws prohibiting propaganda for terrorism are just used in a very blunt way as a political instrument to suppress political opinion which the government finds inconvenient,” Andrew Gardner, a Turkey expert at Amnesty International, told VOA.

“It is absolutely crystal clear that conviction by different courts was due to the fact that this case was fast-tracked. And the decision was issued after the ECHR and after the president of Turkey’s statement on the case made the political nature of the judgment very clear,” Gardner added.

​ECHR ruling

In November, Strasbourg-based ECHR argued that Demirtas’ pretrial detention had gone on longer than is legally justified.

Turkey responded that it was not obligated to adhere to ECHR’s ruling.

“ECHR decisions are not binding for us,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said then. “There are also so many things we can do against (ECHR’s decision). We will make a countermove and finish it off.”

“It is not the ECHR that put down terror in Turkey. Terror remains, and it is still going on. It is the Turkish people that pay the price,” Erdogan added.

Turkey is one of 47 members of the ECHR and is legally obligated to adhere to the court’s rulings. Experts say the country has ignored several ECHR rulings in the past.

‘Double standard’

HDP officials accuse Erdogan of complying with ECHR’s rulings only when they suit his interests.

Saruhan Oluc, a lawmaker and spokesperson for HDP, noted that Erdogan himself made several appeals to the ECHR for violation of his own political rights before he was elected to parliament.

“Now, if the president, who went to the ECHR for himself, says that this ruling is not binding for us, after a ruling that he does not approve of was released, this is a double standard and not acceptable,” Oluc said.

Oluc said the government is intent on putting Demirtas in prison and would charge him with anything that sticks.

​Who is Demirtas?

Demirtas has run for the Turkish presidency twice. In June 2015, during the country’s parliamentary elections, his pro-Kurdish party secured more than 10 percent of the general vote, forcing Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party to build a coalition for the first time since the party was established, instead of forming a majority government in the country.

Demirtas played a major role in mobilizing opposition voters at the time.

In May 2016, Turkey’s parliament passed a law removing parliamentary immunity for those with pending courts cases, which led to Demirtas’s detention on terrorism charges that year.

Some analysts charge that the law was passed so that Turkey could crack down on people like Demirtas.

Demirtas was serving as a member of the parliament and leader of the HDP when he was detained. He has been held ever since.

Demirtas denies charges

Demirtas denies all the charges against him and claims the case is politically motivated because of his political opposition to the current government.

Giran Ozcan, HDP representative to the U.S., told VOA that the accusation of terrorism is a very broad brush used by Erdogan to silence his critics.

“Even a tweet on social media right now is enough to put you behind bars on grounds of terrorism,” Ozcan said. “We know that the terrorism accusation has been very effectively used against our party, the HDP. As we’re seen by Erdogan to be the main threat to his grasp on power, that’s why he has always targeted the HDP specifically.”

​Pending cases

Some analysts expect authorities to use other pending cases against Demirtas if they were pressured to abide by ECHR’s ruling.

“There are several cases pending before the Turkish court against Mr. Demirtas. Since the (ECHR) decision is only about his detention in this main case, he might be detained and convicted in other cases. So, the decision of the European Court will not affect other cases,” Kerem Altiparmak, deputy chairman of Turkey’s human rights association, told VOA.

If found guilty, Demirtas faces up to 142 years in prison.
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