The Ankara 19th High Criminal Court on Thursday ruled for a continuation of the detention of jailed Kurdish political leader Selahattin Demirtaş, the T24 news website reported.
The next hearing in his trial will be held between Dec. 12 and 14.
Former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Demirtaş said during a hearing on Wednesday that “your decision is fixed, I don’t request my release.”
He was arrested on Nov. 4, 2016 on accusations of being an executive of a terrorist group, disseminating terrorist propaganda and promoting crime. The prosecutor demanded 142 years in prison in the indictment.
As the hearing began on Wednesday, Demirtaş attended via video conference from Edirne Prison.
He was a presidential candidate in the presidential election of June 24. Despite his lawyers’ request he was not released by the court to campaign for office.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Demirtaş a “terrorist” at his campaign rallies.
“Nobody should say the courts are not under [political] pressure. It’s shameful!” Demirtaş said in his defense on Thursday.
“I believe the days in which fair trials are conducted will come,” he added.
