EU court rejects PKK ‘terror’ label

Brussels did not properly justify decision to add Kurdish group to ‘terror’ list.

kurdish leader
The PKK's second-in-command Bozan Tekine has been fighting for a Kurdish homeland since 1984 [AFP]
‘Weakens struggle’
 
Turkey accused the European court of undermining “anti-terror” efforts after it ruled against the EU’s inclusion of a Kurdish rebel group on its list of “terrorist” organisations.
 
Mehmet Ali Sahin, the country’s justice minister, said: “The judges were supposed to think very well before making such a ruling that weakens the international struggle against terrorism.
 
“I wish they had come to Turkey… and seen the threats. But, of course, they made the decision at home where there is no risk of terrorism, far from the realities.”
 
The court’s ruling follows similar judgments that the EU had failed to give sufficient reasons for including groups on the list, including exiled Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mujahideen.
Source: News Agencies