ANKARA (Reuters) – The European Court of Human Rights called on Turkey to immediately release prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, ruling on Wednesday the justification for his years of detention was cover for limiting pluralism and political debate.
The Grand Chamber of the ECHR said Demirtas’ pre-trial detention had sent a dangerous message to Turks, which it said was “a matter of indisputable gravity for democracy.”
Demirtas has been jailed for more than four years on terrorism charges. The ECHR said it did not see evidence in decisions for Demirtas’ detention that linked his actions and the alleged terrorism-related offences.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
