Erdogan questions Justice Minister for releasing veteran Kurdish mayor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday questioned a judicial process that resulted in the February release of the veteran Kurdish politician and the removed Mayor of Mardin Province Ahmet Turk.

Speaking to an Ankara audience commemorating the first anniversary of a military coup attempt against his rule last year on July 15, Erdogan at one point directly addressed his Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag, asking him if the health report that led to the Kurdish Mayor's freedom was approved by an authorized general hospital.

Authorities freed Ahmet Turk, 74, early in February after he served a two-months long pre-trial imprisonment since his arrest in November 2016.

Turkish Interior Ministry dismissed Turk and his co-mayor Februniye Althun earlier the same month from their elected posts in 2014 local elections.

"The Mayor of Mardin was freed because of his health issues. And now he, too, is walking," said Erdogan at the event titled 'July 15 and Human Rights,' reported Kurdistan24's Bureau in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

The Turkish President was expressing displeasure at the Kurdish politician's attendance earlier this month in the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) 'Justice Walk' organized from Ankara to Istanbul in a bid to challenge Erdogan's government's practices.

CHP's leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the march in mid-June after a court sentenced one of his party's lawmakers Enis Berberoglu to 25 years on espionage charges. He had contributed to a 2015 media report on arms delivery from Turkey to Islamist groups fighting in Syria.

"These people [like Turk] should have been under supervised release," said Erdogan.

Turk carries a chip implanted in his heart because of a previous cardiac failure.

His detention became an issue of contention between the government and its critics, especially the Kurdish opposition.

Erdogan further added he could have viewed Turk's case from a different perspective if the Kurdish politician "sided with the nation."

Turkish President's remarks about Turk were for the second time in two consecutive days.

On Thursday, Erdogan asked "what kind of patient" Turk was who could attend the walk against the government.

Last week, Erdogan labeled the imprisoned Co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas a “terrorist.”

In response, HDP filed a criminal complaint against Erdogan, accusing him of openly interfering in the judicial process.

Editing by Ava Homa