Istanbul: President Tayyip Erdogan said he did not recognize European decisions seeking the liberation of generous Osman Kavala and Kurdish politicians after demirtas and will obey the decision of the Turkish court on them, NTV broadcasters reported on Wednesday.
Last week the European Council told Turkey that it was preparing for the “violation process” for his failure to release Kavala, a step that could cause an Ankara suspension from the human rights body.
It also urges Turkey to release demirtas.
Speaking to reporters on a flight returning from Doha, Erdogan was quoted as saying that the European decision in Kavala and Demirtas were “NULL AND VOID” for Turkey.
“We did not recognize decisions taken by the European Union regarding Kavala, Demirtas and so on,” Erdogan said when asked about the board’s decision.
Council warnings in Kavala are in line with the 2019 decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Turkey responded by accusing a strasbourg-based interference body in the way the independent court works.
Last week a Turkish court decided that Kavala had to be kept in prison, expanding his four-year detention without confidence.
He was accused of trying to overthrow the government in a case that adds a strain in Ankara’s relationship that has problems with his Western allies.
Demirtas, the former leader of Turkey’s third largest parliamentary party, has been imprisoned by a pending hearing since November 2016 concerning allegations related to terrorism.
They both denied charges against them.