Bahceli: Demirtaş Release Would Be Beneficial

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey's nationalists and an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated that the release of Selahattin Demirtaş, the former leader of the pro-Kurdish party, would be 'beneficial' for the country.

The statement comes after Turkey's final appeal against a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the Demirtaş case was rejected. The ECHR has ruled twice that Demirtaş's rights were violated, but Turkey has not complied with calls for his release.

Demirtaş was the leader of the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which is the third largest party in the Turkish parliament.

Bahceli had previously called for a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).