Turkey's Erdoğan says ECHR ruling on jailed Demirtaş supports terrorism
Addressing a meeting of local authorities, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed European nations for enabling both the PKK terror group and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO). He said in his Wednesday speech: "The leaders of terrorist groups like the PKK can move around freely in European cities. "We would like to warn our European friends ... those terrorists one day will direct their weapons towards you."
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 12:00 | 21 November 2018
- Modified Date: 06:04 | 21 November 2018
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday that the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) ruling on the jailed former leader of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, amounted to support of terrorism.
On Tuesday, the ECHR urged Turkey to swiftly process Demirtaş's legal case, saying his pre-trial detention had gone on longer than could be justified.
Demirtaş, former co-chairman of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), was arrested in November 2016 on terrorism-related charges.
He was sentenced in September to more than four years in jail in relation to a speech he gave in 2013.
Speaking to local administrators in Ankara, Erdoğan said Demirtaş had the blood of 50 people on his hands and accused the ECHR of not being objective in its rulings against Turkey.
"No matter where you go in Europe today, while supporters of terrorist organisations roam free, the citizens who love our country are being suffocated," Erdoğan said.
"Are you following this ECHR? Do you have a ruling on these? No country or institution that praises FETO members has the right to speak of democracy. This isn't seeking justice, it's simply terror-loving," he said, referring to U.S.-based FETO ringleader Fetullah Gulen, who is behind the failed July 15 coup attempt in 2016 that left over 250 people martyred and more than 2,200 others injured.
Turkish government accuse the HDP of ties to the PKK terror group, which has been waging a decades-long terror campaign against the Turkish state and is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union.
While Demirtaş has been convicted in one of his cases, he remains in prison facing several more terrorism-related charges, that he could be sentenced to up to 142 years in jail if found guilty.
Hours after the ECHR's ruling, Erdoğan dismissed the ruling as not binding and, without elaborating, said Turkey would take steps against the decision.