Erdogan attacks Europe court's order for Demirtas's release

Shafaq News/ Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has condemned an order by the European Court of Human Rights to free a jailed Kurdish political leader.

Selahattin Demirtas's imprisonment on terror charges violated five articles of the human rights convention, the court said.

In its ruling, the European Court of Human Rights found that by detaining Demirtas Turkey had "pursued the ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate". It found no clear link between his speeches and terrorism offences and ruled that Turkey should take immediate measures to release him.

In a speech to his AK party in parliament, the Turkish president said the ECHR had defended a "terrorist" and only Turkish courts could rule on the Demirtas case. Demirtas had failed to distance himself from terror groups responsible for killing dozens, he added.

Erdogan said the ruling was hypocritical and "entirely political".

Meanwhile, in a separate Turkish court verdict on Wednesday, exiled journalist Can Dundar was given a 27-year jail term in absentia for aiding a terrorist organization and espionage. Dundar now lives in Germany and his lawyers have condemned the verdict as political.

Since Turkey's failed coup in 2016, authorities have been accused of clamping down on press freedom and shutting down critical news outlets.