Turkish Foreign Ministry Slams Belgian Top Court's Ruling Not To Prosecute PKK Supporters

Umer Jamshaid Published January 29, 2020 | 05:23 PM

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the ruling of Belgium's supreme court to not prosecute 36 supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned in Turkey

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2020) The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned the ruling of Belgium's supreme court to not prosecute 36 supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned in Turkey.

The country's Court of Cassation, the highest judicial authority in Belgium, on Tuesday, confirmed a lower court's decision to not name the PKK as a terrorist organization, making 36 PKK supporters ineligible for prosecution.

"This ruling of the Belgian judiciary means clear support to the PKK, an enlisted terrorist organization by the EU, which is responsible for the death of over 40 thousand Turkish citizens including civilians, children and even babies," the ministry said in a statement.

Ankara considers the decision to be politically motivated and contradictory to the EU and Belgian laws, as well as the UN Security Council's counter-terrorism resolutions, according to the statement.

"Standing on the right side of the history under all circumstances, Turkey will continue its fight against all forms of terrorism, which is one of biggest threats to humanity, both legally and through effective measures on the ground until the eradication of terrorist organizations," the ministry concluded.

The proceedings against 36 PKK supporters began in 2010 with the Court of Appeals ruling against prosecution on March 8, 2019.

The Turkish government has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The PKK and Ankara signed a ceasefire agreement in 2013, but it collapsed just two years later over several terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.