“They have taken my child as a hostage, put him in a prison and been referring to him as a 'terrorist.' How could my child be a terrorist? My children are not terrorists. If he were a terrorist, how did he become a presidential candidate while behind bars [in June 2018 elections]? Then how did he become a deputy? They took him away while he was defending people's rights in parliament,” Sadiye Demirtas told journalist Erdal Er, who runs a YouTube channel.
Asked what she thought about Erdogan's dismissal of the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) ruling on Demirtas, she said: "Then how will Turkey enter the European Union in such a way? If he is not recognizing Europe, how will Europe recognize Turkey?"
Her comments came as Erdogan once again attacked the ECHR's ruling on Demirtas and criticized the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for urging the government to abide by the court's ruling.
“If they [CHP officials] had the authority with regards to these issues, they would release this terrorist supporter, who has several people's blood on his hands,” Erdogan said on Dec. 28 following a Cabinet meeting.
Erdogan was referring to CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's statements from last week who recalled that Turkey has been breaching its obligations by not complying with the ECHR's rulings.
The Grand Chamber of the ECHR ruled on December 22 that Demirtas must be freed immediately.
The court said Turkey's justification for his detention longer than four years on terrorism-related offenses was a pretext for limiting political debate.
Opposition members and rights groups have accused the government of pressing the judiciary to silence Erdogan's opponents, particularly since an attempted coup in July 2016.
Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have regularly denied such charges and said courts make independent decisions.
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