Turkey must adhere ECHR rulings, EU Commission head says in Ankara

It is important that Turkey respects the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which has clearly ruled on jailed Turks Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Ankara on Tuesday.

"We have been for example discussing that the ECHR is clear on Kavala and Demirtas," Von der Leyen told reporters after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. "As a founding member of the European Council it is important that Turkey respects rulings of the ECHR."

The ECHR has ruled for the immediate release of Kavala, a philanthropist jailed more than three years without conviction, and Demirtas, former leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who has been jailed more than four years.