Turkey’s top Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas, one of the few names who proved he could challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s charisma, has decided to run in the June 24 presidential elections, seemingly undaunted by the bars of his prison cell.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) announced Demirtas’ candidacy May 4. “Our candidate is Selahattin Demirtas, who is being held as a hostage in Edirne Prison,” HDP Co-chair Pervin Buldan was quoted by Hurriyet Daily news as saying in a statement.