Ankara summons Belgium’s ambassador over Brussels court ruling on PKK

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned Belgium’s ambassador in Ankara on Monday after a Belgian court blocked the prosecution of some 30 people with alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The court of appeal in Brussels ruled on Friday that the defendants could not be prosecuted for participating in the activities of a terrorist group because it said the PKK is not a terrorist organization. Belgian law says that terrorism label does not apply to forces engaged in an armed conflict, even though the EU, US and Turkey have all designated the group as a terrorist organization which has waged an insurgency in Turkey since the 1980s. Ankara said on Friday the Belgian court ruling was unacceptable. Relations between Turkey and EU states worsened following a 2016 failed military coup.