Verdict Announced in KCK Main Case

Click to read the article in Turkish

Verdict has been rendered in the suit brought eight years ago in which 154 suspects were tried. Jail term was imposed on 111 defendants in the suit called “KCK main case”

According to dihaber, the court ruled 21 years in prison for 16 people each and from 14 months to 18 years in prison for 95 others. 43 defendants were acquitted.

15 people including Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-Chair Kamuran Yüksek were sentenced to 21 years in prison each on charge of “being manager of an [illegal] organization”.

Diyarbakır Co-Mayor Fırat Anlı, who was suspended from duty, was sentenced to 15 months, former MP Demir Çelik to 15 months, Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Hatip Dicle to 9 years, and Mardin Co-Mayor Ahmet Türk to 15 months in prison.

What happened?

In the operations launched under the name of Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) in 2009, tens of thousands were detained in especially İstanbul and Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province.

The trial named as the “main case” started with the 7,578-page indictment prepared by Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The indictment demands jail term from 15 years to aggravated lifetime imprisonment for 175 suspects on charges of “Disrupting unity and integrity of the state”, “Being a member and manager of a terror group”, and “Aiding and abating a terror group”. The case lasted for eight years. (AS/TK)