MESOP FLASH : GOOD NEWS ! THE MODERATE NON-PKK MAYOR AHMET TURK IS FREED – Turkish Court Orders Release of Pro-Kurdish Mayor

Ahmet Turk was released on Friday, after over two months, from a jail in the eastern province of Elazig.The order came after Mardin Criminal Court of Peace evaluated his release demand. Officials from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, also known as the HDP, as well as politicians and supporters had repeatedly asked for his release, stating that the 79-year-old was suffering from ill health.According to his lawyer, Zeynep Ceren Boztoprak, Turk’s trial will resume without arrest.

Sezgin Tanrikulu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), praised the court ruling.”Finally, a wrong verdict that contradicts justice and conscience has been rectified. Ahmet Turk was released, hope the rest will come,” he said in a message posted on Twitter.Turk, who is known as a moderate figure in the pro-Kurdish political line, was removed from office on November 17, 2016, and arrested as part of a terrorism investigation a few days later. www.mesop.de