Meral Danış Beştaş


Meral Danış Beştaş is a Turkish politician from the Peoples' Democratic Party, who has served as a Member of Parliament for Adana since 7 June 2015.
Born in Diyarbakır, Beştaş graduated from Dicle University Faculty of Law in 1990. She was detained on the 16 November 1993 together with her husband accused of being a courier for the PKK. Between the 15 November 1993 and 21 December 1993 16 lawyers who defended clients accused of being affiliated with the PKK were detained. Beştaş was released on the 10 December 1993 together with 12 other lawyers. All the 16 lawyers alleged that due to their detention their rights were violated and they filed a complaint at the European Commission of Human Rights. In 2003 she was granted with an indemnization of 14.000 Euros for having been unlawfully detained for 24 days. She is currently a co-deputy president of the HDP and was elected as a HDP Member of Parliament at the June 2015 general election and has been reelected in the November 2015 and the June 2018 general election.
She was arrested on 30 January 2017 accused of having taking part in a HDP board meeting during which the prosecution believes it was decided by the HDP, to call for protests in support of the YPG fighting against the Islamic State in Kobanî. She was released on 21 April 2017 pending trial. In 2018 the constitutional court ordered the Turkish treasury to pay Beştaş 20`000 Turkish Liras for having been imprisoned unjustly as even though Bestas was a board member, it was not proven she voted in favor of the protests.
Turkish prosecutors announced on 13 February 2018 they were seeking a 25-year prison term for Beştaş