CHP Vice Chair Veli Agbaba said Demirtas had told him during their meeting that if he were to die, “the ones who put him in jail” would be to blame.

Agbaba’s comments came after he, along with two other CHP deputies visited Demirtas in prison in the western province of Edirne to check on the former HDP co-chair’s health situation. Demirtas hit the headlines on December 2 after his lawyers informed the public that the former HDP co-chair had lost consciousness due to chest tightness and inability to breathe on November 26.

Following their meeting with Demirtas, the CHP delegation wanted to issue a press statement, but they were allowed to do so only about four kilometers away from the prison, Duvar reported.

Agbaba, speaking on behalf of the CHP delegation, said that they had seen Demirtas in a good state of health and in a good mood. Demirtas told the delegation that he was not experiencing a problem with the jail management and the delay in his transfer to a hospital was attributable to the Justice Ministry.

Agbaba said that Demirtas’s illness is quite serious, but Demirtas himself does not want to be considered eligible for release based on this illness. “Demirtas says, ‘Even if I die, I do not want to be released because of this reason,’” Agbaba said, referring to the fact there are thousands of sick patients in Turkish jails who are denied release.

“He [Demirtas] will get examined again in the upcoming days. There is no yet a diagnosis about his illness. He used to overcome [the chest tightness and inability to breathe] with breathing exercises, but for the first time, he has fainted. This is a new situation for him. He fainted for the first time and since he hit his head, he does not remember [what happened before]. He has a serious health problem. Precautions need to be taken.”

Reporter’s code: 50101