13.07.2026 21:50
CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu reevaluated the debates regarding the 2016 decision to lift Selahattin Demirtaş's parliamentary immunity, which was also supported by the CHP at the time, during a television program. Kılıçdaroğlu, who previously made headlines with his statement "I am not regretful," denied claims that he had rejected Demirtaş's request for a meeting, giving striking messages by saying, "I will visit him again when the opportunity arises."
CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in a live special interview on tv100, while answering questions from Erdoğan Aktaş and Başak Şengül, reassessed the long-debated decision regarding the removal of Selahattin Demirtaş's parliamentary immunity. Kılıçdaroğlu, who previously made headlines with his statement 'I am not regretful,' this time both responded to claims that he rejected Demirtaş's meeting request and made striking remarks by saying, 'I will visit him again when the opportunity arises.'
"I NEVER HAD SUCH A REQUEST"
During the live broadcast, the recent public claims that 'Selahattin Demirtaş rejected Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's meeting request' were also asked to Kılıçdaroğlu. The CHP Chairman denied these claims, stating, 'I never had such a visit request.'
"I WOULD SAY LET THE IMMUNITY BE LIFTED"
Reiterating that he stands behind the 2016 decision to lift parliamentary immunities, which CHP also voted 'yes' for, Kılıçdaroğlu said he still holds the same view today. 'If I were a deputy, I would say, 'Lift my immunity, I will go to court, be acquitted, and come back,'' Kılıçdaroğlu stated, recalling that Selahattin Demirtaş also wanted the immunities to be lifted at that time. Emphasizing that there are resolutions in CHP congresses favoring the lifting of immunities, Kılıçdaroğlu noted that they voted accordingly when the official reports came to Parliament.
"THE MISTAKE WAS HIS ARREST"
Stating that the lifting of immunity and the arrest process should not be confused, Kılıçdaroğlu assessed, 'The mistake was this: it is not right to arrest a person whose immunity has been lifted. Their immunity is lifted, and they can be tried without detention.'
HE HAD PREVIOUSLY SAID "I AM NOT REGRETFUL"
Kılıçdaroğlu had also made statements on the same subject during another television program he attended weeks earlier, stating that he stands behind CHP's support in 2016 and said, 'I am not regretful.' In that statement, he said, 'When deputy official reports come to Parliament, I want the immunities to be lifted. This is my principle.' However, he added that he does not find it right that Selahattin Demirtaş has been detained for years. Describing Demirtaş as a 'political prisoner,' Kılıçdaroğlu argued that the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitutional Court should be implemented.
"I WILL VISIT HIM AGAIN WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES"
Kılıçdaroğlu also revealed that he last met with Demirtaş about 1-1.5 years ago. Stating that during the approximately half-hour meeting they discussed Turkey's problems and regional developments, Kılıçdaroğlu said, 'I will visit Demirtaş again when the opportunity arises.'