February 27, 2018•Update: February 28, 2018
By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA
Turkey will not stop pursuing former leader of terror group who was set free by a court in the Czech Republic, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.
"This court decision doesn’t mean that everything is over. We will not give up. We will not stop pursuing him if he goes to another country,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said about Salih Muslum, the former co-leader of the PYD/PKK terrorist group, who walked free in Prague earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters in Algeria, Cavusoglu said a red notice for Muslum was already out while other verdicts were also there against him.
The foreign minister termed the Czech court’s decision to release Muslum as a sign of "insincerity" of many European countries in the fight against terrorism.
He added after Muslum was detained in Prague, Ankara used its foreign, justice and interior ministries and also sent a diplomatic note to the Czech Republic for his extradition.
"We are always on Salih Muslum's back...We will do what is necessary under the framework of law," he said.
He also recalled that Muslum was responsible for terror attacks in Turkey, including the 2016 attack at Guvenpark in capital Ankara.
A Czech court on Tuesday released Muslum following his detention Sunday in Prague, after Turkey called on the Czech Republic to arrest the ex-leader of terror group.
The Interior Ministry has offered a bounty of nearly $1 million on Muslum, one of Turkey’s most wanted terrorists.
Muslum is being sought on charges of disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state, homicide, attempted homicide, damaging public property, and transporting hazardous substances.
The PYD/PKK is a Syrian offshoot of the PKK -- designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- which has taken some 40,000 lives, including those of women and children, in its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey.
