Diyarbakýr 5th High Criminal Court rejected the request of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) jailed deputy Ýbrahim Ayhan’s lawyer to release his client as part of the third judicial reform package.

Ayhan who was elected deputy for Þanlýurfa while in prison in the general elections on 12 June 2011 is tried in the scope of KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) investigation.

The court rejected the request to release BDP deputy claiming he committed “terrorist crimes”.

Around 10,000 people currently held in jail are expected to be released thanks to the recently adopted legal arrangement but Turkish Courts have rejected requests for the release of two jailed BDP deputies in the last one week. BDP Þýrnak deputy Faysal Sarýyýldýz was also denied release by Diyarbakýr 6th High Criminal Court four days ago on the basis of the same accusation.

Lawyers of other jailed BDP deputies Kemal Aktaþ, Selma Irmak and Gülser Yýldýrým have also demanded the release of their clients as part of the recently approved reform package which extends the scope of judicial control measures and doesn’t propose detention for suspects. The decision on three BDP deputies are expected to be disclosed within this week.