#turkish-politics

#turkish-politics

Imamoglu clashed with the judge as he was denied permission to speak on entering the courtroom and was told he would address the court last. He said the court should 'respect the right of people to defend themselves.' But the judge refused, prompting chants of 'shame!' in support of the opposition leader from the viewing gantry.

Demirtas' tour bus was rolling along slowly and a young paper collector was walking alongside. "Selahattin Baskan, my president Selahattin!," the young man called out, smiling. The incident became a symbol of the hopes that young Kurds in Turkey placed in Demirtas, head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, after decades of tensions between Kurdish militants and the Turkish government.