A Turkish prosecutor is seeking up to 142 years behind bars for Selahattin Demirtas, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third-largest party in parliament, a media report said on Tuesday.
According to the indictment, Demirtas’ co-leader, Figen Yuksekdag, faces up to 83 years.
However, both are already in jail, along with nine other members of parliament from the HDP.
It noted that the arrests of the party’s top leaders started in November in late night raids.
The government has also taken over HDP municipalities in the mostly-Kurdish south-east and replaced the mayors with loyalists while there is no sign of early fresh elections.
Demirtas is accused of spreading terrorist propaganda, among other charges.
The HDP says it is being targeted over its opposition to Turkish President Recep Erdogan who is seeking to expand his powers.
Over 2,700 members of HDP and its sister organisations have been detained or arrested since 2015, when a ceasefire and peace process broke down between the state and the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reigniting violence.
However, the HDP denied the government’s claims that it was a wing of the PKK, which Turkey deems a terrorist organisation.
The government said it would not return to talks with the PKK, a group that has been fighting for greater rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey for over 30 years.
Report says Kurds often complains of systemic discrimination by the state.
Nursel Aydogan, an HDP legislator, was sentenced recently to over four years in jail. (dpa/NAN)
