Europe's human rights court calls on Turkey to release Demirtas

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Wednesday that Turkey should immediately release prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, and said the justification for his years in prison was cover for limiting pluralism and debate.

The Grand Chamber of the ECHR said Demirtas - who is charged with terrorism-related offences - had had his freedom of expression, liberty and other rights violated. His pre-trial detention sent "a dangerous message to the entire population" that sharply narrowed free democratic debate, it said.

"The Court thus concluded that the reasons put forward by the authorities for the applicant's pre-trial detention had merely been cover for an ulterior political purpose, which was a matter of indisputable gravity for democracy," the Chamber said.

Demirtas has been jailed since November 2016. He faces 142 years in jail if convicted in...