DEM Party delegation meets detained politicians, calls for judicial reform in Turkey to achieve lasting domestic peace and stability

MARMARA, Turkey — A delegation from Turkey’s opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) met with nine detained politicians in Silivri Prison on Sunday, including prominent figures such as Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu (Republican People’s Party, CHP), former Van Mayor Bekir Kaya (Democratic Regions Party, DBP), and lawyer-politician Can Atalay (Workers’ Party of Turkey, TİP).

Following the visit, delegation members Tülay Hatimoğulları, Tuncer Bakırhan, and Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki addressed the press. Bakırhan criticized the lack of fair trials and prolonged detentions under Turkey’s penal laws, calling for an end to politically motivated prosecutions. “The judiciary must be impartial and independent. Trials must proceed without pre-detention,” he stated.

Hatimoğulları relayed messages from İmamoğlu and other detained politicians, highlighting their commitment to ongoing democratization efforts. “All the prisoners we met, especially Mr. İmamoğlu, emphasized their dedication to ensuring the success of this process,” she said.

The delegation underscored the complaints of detainees regarding judicial interference and politically driven trials, which they argue undermine Turkey’s democratic foundations.

The visit forms part of a broader democratization initiative aimed at fostering social peace and ensuring equal rights for all population groups in Turkey. The Federation of Syriac Associations (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF), a founding member of the DEM Party, has been actively involved in these efforts.

Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK), recently made a historic announcement calling for peace in Turkey, urging both the Turkish government and the PKK to pursue dialogue and reconciliation to end decades of conflict.

Speaking through his legal representatives, Öcalan emphasized the need for democratic solutions and an end to violence, highlighting the importance of mutual recognition and coexistence.