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Turkish Justice minister rules out release for PKK leader despite ECHR ruling

Türkiye Materials 19 March 2014 09:13 (UTC +04:00)
Turkish Justice minister rules out release for PKK leader despite ECHR ruling
Turkish Justice minister rules out release for PKK leader despite ECHR ruling

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has ruled out the possibility of Abdullah Ocalan benefiting from conditional release on March 18, hours after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey partly violated the European Convention on Human Rights, following a complaint by the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Hurriyet Daily News reported.

"This decision does not require a new regulation. Turkey will not change its system of law enforcement," Bozdag told reporters in Ankara.

"Ocalan was sentenced to life, so he cannot benefit from conditional release," the minister said.

The court had called for Ankara to create mechanisms to allow the possibility of conditional release for prisoners with "aggravated" life sentences, or even to abolish life sentences completely.

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