Bernd Riexinger, Co-chair of the German the Left (Die Linke) Party and his accompanying delegation came to Istanbul to show solidarity with detained MPs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Riexinger held a joint press conference at HDP Istanbul Provincial Headquarters along with HDP Parliamentary Group Deputy Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Amed MP Feleknas Uca and member of Party Assembly Ayşe Berktay.

Bernd Riexinger stated the followings:

"We appealed to visit Demirtaş, but our request has been officially rejected. We will not turn a blind eye to what is happening in Turkey. They (the government) are trying to cripple the opposition before the referendum. This is in breach of the rule of law and democracy. We see it as our duty to keep this issue on the agenda for the release of politicians and journalists. I have been visiting imprisoned politicians in Turkey since 2010 but today our application to visit Demirtaş was rejected. And this is a first."

Bernd Riexinger also said that the Council of Europe will send an observer delegation of 30 to Turkey in order to ensure the referendum will be implemented according to the criteria.

After Riexinger, Kerestecioğlu also gave a short speech and said: " When we consider the rise of the right across the world, we see that the solidarity between the left parties is crucial."