Turk court to rule on pro-Kurd ex-MPs, EU watching

The state security court was expected to rule at around 1400 GMT on whether to release the four Kurds, who include one-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Leyla Zana, following a retrial ordered in 2001 by the European Court of Human Rights.

Friday marked the 13th hearing in the retrial and was expected to bring a final verdict on the ex-lawmakers’ fate. The court has resisted pressure from the EU and human rights groups to free the four during the retrial.

The EU, which Turkey wants to join, has said the case reflects poorly on Ankara’s efforts to improve its chequered human rights record and overhaul its creaking judicial system.