VAN - Turkish court which handed imprisoned HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas a five-month prison sentence last month for ‘insulting the government’ has said that his sentence will not be suspended because he is ‘prone to criminal behavior’



In its detailed ruling for Demirtas’ sentencing, the Second Penal Court of General Jurisdiction of Doğubeyazıt stated, “The defendant’s description of an elected legitimate government’s policies and actions as ‘government terror’ exceeds the boundaries of freedom of expression and the right to parliamentary criticism.”



“The defendant’s many ongoing trials and his criminal record with the police show that he is prone to criminal behaviour, and the additional fact that he has showed no remorse for his actions have led us to decide that his sentence not be suspended,” the ruling explained.