ANKARA (Sputnik) — On November 3, a court in Belgium ruled that PKK activities could not be considered as terrorism. The ruling was made in a case against 36 alleged PKK members who are being accused of kidnapping children in Belgium before sending them for training in Greece and Iraq.
"The decision by a Belgian court to not recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization is a direct attack on the European Convention on Human Rights," Celik said, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The minister stressed that the ruling comes as a blow to EU-Turkish relations, adding that EU authorities permit pro-PKK rallies in European cities, including Brussels.
PKK is designated as a terrorist group in Turkey and the United States. The European Union also lists the organization as terrorist, with the European Parliament voting against removing the PKK for the list in 2015.
Founded in 1978, the PKK seeks self-determination of Turkey's Kurdish minority. Tensions between Ankara and the Turkish Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed over a series of terrorist attacks, allegedly committed by PKK members.
