The Never-Ending Story of the KCK Indictment
The second week of the KCK trial in Diyarbakır (south-eastern Turkey) was passed by reading the summary of the 7,500-page indictment.
152 defendants of whom 104 are detained stand accused of an alleged affiliation to the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan (KCK), the umbrella organizaiton that includes the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court dismissed the request to omit the sections related to individuals submitted in order to save time.
Subsequently, defence lawyer Cihan Aydın suggested not reading the sections on absent un-detained defendants and defendants in whose name an arrest warrant was issued but who could not be arrested yet. The court president said that he was going to evaluate the request regarding the absent defendants who could not be arrested yet.
While the indictment's section on Kamuran Yüksek, Deputy Chair of the banned Democratic Society Party (DTP) was read, it referred to the speech delivered by DTP Co-Chair Ahmet Türk in parliament. Türk had protested the state's announcement that there were no legal restrictions for the Kurdish language. According to the indictment, the speech was made on the directive of the KCK.
Related to the section on Yüksek, the indictment furthermore read that the Mayor of Kayapınar, Zülküf Karatekin, kicked a police officer during a demonstration. At this point, the Kurdish politicians looked at Karatekin and smiled.
Support and protest
Daniel Delaveau as the Mayor of Rennes, French partner city of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, travelled to Diyarbakır in order to monitor the trial as well as Genevieve Ichard, Attaché of the Embassy of France for Co-operation and Cultural Activities, Deputy Minister for Development and Urbanization Frederic Bourcier, Technical Services General Manager Philippe Faysee, Construction Development Manager Olivier Schoentjes and architect Sophie Bataille.
Enlil Eshayo Afram as the representative of the Syriac group coming from Sweden said that he came with the aim of support and solidarity.
Members of the Diyarbakır Democracy Platform protested the prosecution of the Kurdish politicians in a demonstration in the centre of Diyarbakır. Abdullah Karahan, Branch President of the Diyarbakır Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim-Sen), claimed that the government's military and political operations should be stopped.
Ahmet Türk, Co-Chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), issued a statement in Istanbul where he followed the 15th hearing of the Hrant Dink murder trial. "Today our friends were targeted and put to jail because they voiced their ideas and thoughts, because they took a place in democratic politics and represent different identities and believes. If the Kurdish question is to be resolved on democratic grounds, this mistake should be corrected first of all", Türk said.
The KCK trial is expected to be continued until 12 November. Several detained defendants have been imprisoned for 18 months. (EÜ/VK)
Source: Fırat News Agency