Turkey's Erdogan says jailed Kurdish leader has 'blood on his hands'

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday the jailed Kurdish political leader Selahattin Demirtas defends "terrorism" and has the "blood of thousands of Kurds on his hands," a week after a former top government official called for his release.

Demirtas, former leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, has been in prison for more than four years on charges related to violent protests against the Turkish army's inaction during a militant attack on the Syrian Kurdish town Kobani.

Former deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc had called for his release last week. But in the face of criticism in recent days, Arinc on Tuesday resigned from the presidential advisory board.

(Reporting by Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Daren Butler)