Trial on Seven Speeches of Kurdish Politician Postponed
The trial against Ahmet Türk, former Co-Chair of the defunct pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), on the grounds of seven different speeches of the Kurdish politician was started on 10 March. Türk stands accused of "propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of speeches delivered in the cities of Batman, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Siirt and on the Kurdish television channel Roj TV.
Türk is still an active member of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). His lawyer Fethi Gümüş informed bianet that the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court postponed the case to 16 June in order to allow time for the preparation of the final speech of the prosecution.
Gümüş said that Türk was alleged of "organizational propaganda" seven times in the scope of the case file. At the same time, Türk is being tried on charges of "committing a crime on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member of the organization", the lawyer reminded.
Aysel Tuğluk sued for twelve speeches
The same court is prosecuting Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk, former Member of Parliament for Diyarbakır, on the grounds of twelve different speeches delivered between 2005 and 2009.
The Diyarbakır Public Chief Prosecution demands prison sentences of 45 and 70 years for Türk and Tuğluk respectively according to Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law. (EÇ/EÖ/VK)