Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) ruling on the jailed former co-chair of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition amounted to support of ‘terrorism’.
The ECHR urged Turkey on Tuesday to swiftly process the legal case of Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the parliament, saying his pre-trial detention had gone on longer than could be justified.
Erdogan said Demirtas had the blood of 50 people on his hands. Turkey accuses the HDP of ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an accusation denied by the HDP.
Charged with a string of offenses including ‘terrorist propaganda’, Demirtas has been behind bars since November 2016.
