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Kurdish leader HDP Selahattin Demirtas has been in prison for nearly three years. His visit was denied to MEPs. REUTERS / Osman Orsal

In Turkey, opponent Selahattin Demirtas remains in prison. The Kurdish political leader, accused by the judiciary of leading a " terrorist organization ", " terrorist propaganda " and " incitement to commit crimes ", hoped to benefit soon from a conditional release after nearly three years in prison. It was counting without the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who considers the Kurdish leader as one of his main rivals and presses justice to keep him in prison.

With our correspondent in Istanbul , Anne Andlauer

In recent weeks, relatives of Selahattin Demirtas feverishly hoped the release of the opponent. A court ordered his release at the beginning of the month in his main trial. Admittedly, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish party, the HDP, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in another trial, but given the time he has already spent behind bars - almost three years - he could have benefited conditional release.

Hardly had his lawyers made the request, Thursday, that the floor of Ankara opened a new investigation against the Kurdish leader. Without waiting, a judge ordered his placement in preventive detention. And just as quickly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his satisfaction. " We will not let them go ," he said of pro-Kurdish elected officials.

For HDP supporters, the head of state's words sound like a confession: Recep Tayyip Erdogan will put pressure on justice every time his rival Selahattin Demirtas - who faces dozens of trials - will have a chance to be released.

A similar scenario occurred last year, when the European Court of Human Rights ordered Ankara to release the opponent. Two weeks later, a court of appeal confirmed his prison sentence.