Selahattin Demirtaş

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) if all legal avenues are exhausted in Turkey regarding their arrested deputies.

Repeating the fact that Turkey is going through the most difficult times in its history in every news piece or column is not a very pleasant thing to do. It could even be considered boring, but it has to be done to better demonstrate and explain what this country is being exposed to.

The Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) held its first parliamentary group meeting in the absence of its co-chairs and eight deputies on Nov. 8, after they were arrested last week on terror charges.

The Interior Ministry has filed a criminal complaint against lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on allegations that it used the disappearance of local politician Hurşit Külter, who surfaced in Kirkuk following months of questions about his fate, as a tool of propaganda.

Police have detained a missing Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy in the southeastern province of Hakkari, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said Nov. 7.

"My friends left a note just now. Three deputies had been fugitives. One of them, Nihat Akdağon was caught by police at the entrance to Hakkari," Kurtulmuş told reporters speaking after a cabinet meeting.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said the arrests of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputies, including two co-chairs of the Kurdish issue-focused party, violate Turkey's constitution, while also calling for the release of arrested daily Cumhuriyet journalists.

Observing the atmosphere of domestic political reconciliation during and after the coup attempt on July 15, some expected that President Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) could use this positive energy to increase the quality of democracy in Turkey.

A local court in the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakır ordered the arrest of Democratic Unity Party (DBP) co-head Sebahat Tuncel on Nov. 6, two days after she was detained by police in front of the courthouse.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a splinter group from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), claimed responsibility on Nov. 6 for a bomb attack that occurred in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır early on Nov. 4, which killed 11 people and wounded hundreds. 

EU Affairs Minister Ömer Çelik has invited envoys of European Union member countries in Ankara for a meeting, following strong European criticism of the arrest of pro-Kurdish lawmakers.

The minister will address ambassadors regarding the "latest developments" in Turkey, a written statement said on Nov. 6.