Mother of imprisoned Demirtaş: I will remain by my son's side until the end

Vecdi Erbay/ DUVAR

I went to the hospital to visit Sadiye Demirtaş, the mother of imprisoned former co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP). She was recently injured in a car accident, and by her side were her husband, daughter, daughter-in-law and son-in-law. Her husband Tahir Demirtaş, who was wounded in the same accident, broke his rib cage and was noticeably experiencing pain while breathing. 

Her daughter Şadiye is sitting in another chair, and it is increasingly clear from her movements that she is also in pain. After the accident, she underwent lower back surgery in Istanbul. Her son-in-law Şeymus and daughter-in-law Başak were on their feet, individually carrying the pain of everyone injured in the accident. 

Except for her husband, Sadiye Demirtaş was the mother of everyone in the room. But as it was if she was Selahattin's mother most of all. As soon as she begins to talk in is evident there is sorrow and anger in her voice. “I returned [to Diyarbakır] without being able to see him,” she said. 

Due to a variety of health problems, Sadiye Demirtaş has not been able to visit her son in months. She and her family live in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, while Selahattin is imprisoned in Edirne, in the far northwest corner of the country, some 1600 kilometers away. They may not have been able to even visit this time, but the reason they were on their way to Edirne was because of health problems that Selahattin himself had been experiencing. He was hospitalized after losing consciousness following a period of difficulty breathing. 

The journey requires a flight from Diyarbakır to Istanbul, and then a several-hour journey by car to Edirne. It was on the way to Edirne from Istanbul that Demirtaş' relatives and a total of nine people were injured when the minibus they were traveling in had a blowout, causing the vehicle to veer out of control. 

“When the car's tire exploded, the driver tried to maintain control of its direction. But the vehicle hit the barriers on the left and the right four times. If they were not made of concrete, maybe it would have rolled 200 meters down a cliff,” said Sadiye's son-in-law, medical doctor Şeyhmus Gökalp. 

“Why is Selahattin in Edirne?” Sadiye asks, before answering her own question: “Because the only one that stood up to them was Selahattin. Due to the fact that they were scared of Selahattin they threw him in jail,” Sadiye said. “We went all the way there, and got into a car accident. Is the state that keeps him imprisoned there happy now?” 

Gökalp points to one of Sadiye's wounds from the accident. Her right leg is swollen and completely bruised. The bruising was a result of the accident but the swelling in her leg is the result of pre-existing kidney problems. 

I didn't stay long as in order to not tire out Sadiye. “Selahattin is not guilty of a single crime. I will remain by my son's side until the end,” she said as I left. 

“Selahattin will not bow down to those who have unjustly imprisoned him, nor will his family. For this reason his has not frequently brought up the distance that has been put between him and his family. There are thousands of prisoners in this situation and he didn't want a privelege for himself,” Gökalp said. 

“One of Turkey's biggest prisons is in Diyarbakır. Could they not have reserved a cell for Selahattin Demirtaş in the Diyarbakır prison? Of course they could have. But they are consciously punishing both the prisoner and his family and causing them to suffer,” Gökalp added.