The third hearing for the case of HDP Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, veritably held hostage by the government, was held today in the Ankara Criminal Court of General Jurisdiction No.25.

The court postponed the hearing to January 17, 2018 and issued the following verdict:

“Transporting the accused to attend the court in person is deemed to be prone to creating hardships in security and judicial costs, considering procedural economy. Giving a defense via [video conferencing system] SEGBİS does not go against the face-to-face principle, and thus the court reserves the right to discretion. The interim decision will be declared to the accused and his defense and evidence will be requested via SEGBİS in the next hearing. It will be incorporated into this interim decision that if the accused demands to not go on SEGBİS, the act will be considered as an exercise of the right to remain silent according to the Code of Criminal Procedures Article 147/1-e.”