Thieves steal computer of HDP co-chair Demirtaş’s lawyer holding his plea ahead of hearing

DİYARBAKIR

Thieves have broken into the office of the lawyer of jailed Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, stealing his computer that contains Demirtaş’s plea for the first hearing of the case in which he being tried on terror charges, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Thieves late on Dec. 3 stole three computers after climbing through the balcony of the office of former Diyarbakır bar head Mehmet Emin Aktar in the Yenişehir district of the city, just three days ahead of Demirtaş’s hearing.

They left two of the computers on the street and ran away with the computer containing the HDP co-chair’s plea.

The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the robbery.

Aktar’s office has reportedly been the target of four attempted break-ins over the past year, two of which failed and two of which saw the stealing of computers.

Demirtaş was initially arrested as part of an investigation launched by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Ankara 19th Criminal Court later took over his case, setting Dec. 7 as the date for his first hearing.

He has been serving time in an F-Type jail in the northwestern province of Edirne since Nov. 4, 2016, along with eight other deputies of the party, including Figen Yüksekdağ, a former HDP co-chair, pending trial on terror-related charges.

Demirtaş faces hundreds of years in jail over alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as other charges.