The candidate of the main opposition CHP party in the Turkish presidential elections, Muharrem Ince, visited today the prison where Kurdish HDP candidate Selahattin Demirtas is being held, their parties announced.
According to Turkish media, the visit took place under draconian security measures. Without speaking to reporters, Muharrem Ince entered the prison accompanied by lawyers.
Selahattin Demirtas welcomed the initiative of his political opponent, which he described as "important and remarkable" in a message issued by his party, the HDP.
"The visit of Muharrem Ince is an example of human solidarity. "It highlights political courtesy and does not send a political message to our voters," Demirtas said.
Muharrem Ince had expressed a desire to meet with all the candidates in the June 24 presidential election. He visited Demirtas in the prisons of Andrianoupolis, where he also attended a pre-election rally.
The Kurdish leader has run in the June 24 presidential election, although he has been in prison since November 2016.
In his message, Demirtas sharply criticized the policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the maintenance of the state of emergency after the failed coup in July 2016. Demirtas and other members of his party were arrested in connection with the arrests. after the coup attempt.
"My colleagues and I are being held hostage, but unfortunately the people outside are not far from becoming an open-air prison," the Kurdish leader said.
The CHP candidate has already visited Meral Aksener, the candidate of the new Iyi Party, and Temel Karamolaoglou, the candidate of a small Islamist party.
According to NTV, later today Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to receive Muharrem Ince at the headquarters of the AKP party.