Turkey's jailed Pro-Kurdish party leader appears before court for first time

ISTANBUL, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The jailed co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) appeared before a court in Istanbul on Friday for the first time since his detention in November 2016.

Selahattin Demirtas is facing up to four years in prison for insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech he made after his visit to Russia in December 2015, according to a statement issued by the HDP press office.

Addressing the court, Demirtas said, "A deputy's right of defence starts in parliament, not in the courtroom, and this right has been taken from us."

Hundreds of supporters gathered in front of the courthouse to show solidarity with Demirtas.

Up to now, Demirtas is also facing over 30 lawsuits from terror-related charges.

Demirtas announced last week that he was stepping down as HDP co-chair and would not run in the upcoming elections.

In August 2016, a Turkish prosecutor demanded five years in jail for Demirtas after he spoke in favor of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a rally in Istanbul, where slogans were chanted in support of PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The PKK has been fighting against the Turkish government for over 30 years and is blacklisted as a terror group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Enditem