HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) Co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and Hakkari MP Abdullah Zeydan sent a message to the party’s district congress in Yüksekova, Hakkari from the Edirne Type F Prison they are held in.

Demirtaş and Zeydan’s message is as follows:

“Coming together more and supporting each other is a duty for every one of us in a period when human rights are trampled in new ways every day in the state of emergency, right to life is disregarded, law is reduced to a mere word and injustice becomes ordinary.

In the aftermath of the November 1 elections that those who couldn’t stomach our victory in the June 7 elections dragged us into, we were imprisoned with trumped up charges after immunities were lifted on May 20, 2016. Those who imprisoned us see that there is no preference over the preference of the people. The people gave our party the authority to represent them and to govern with 59 deputies. And while this authority can only change through the people, those who don’t recognize the choice of the people through elections are doomed to perish. Just like those who lifted immunities for DEP MPs and had them arrested in 1994 are sentenced to the dark depths of history today.

We continue on our path, growing every day. Those who want to destroy us, who implement oppression, tyranny, torture and all kinds of immorality should remember that the key to the authority to govern lies with the people. And we as those who defend peace, democracy, law, nature, women’s rights and natural human rights, are more in number than they want to remember or see. And we will continue to uphold the democratic values we know and love.

With our hope to reunite with you in brighter tomorrows, we wish this congress will lead to good fortune. We salute all our people and all the participants again with love and respect.”