Şemdinli Victim Faces Prison for Praising Öcalan

Seferi Yılmaz, whose bookstore in Şemdinli, Hakkari was attacked on November 2005 faces prison sentence for referring to PKK’s condemned leader Abdullah Öcalan as “Kurdish people’s hero”, during a panel discussion in Bursa.

Yılmaz, who is destined to be sent to Hakkari E-type prison, said he’ll apply to the Turkey’s Human Rights Association (İHD) and appeal to the accusations.

The Şemdinli bombing was revealed as to have committed by army officers, in order to cause provocation in the region. Noncommissioned officers Ali Kaya and Özcan İldeniz, and a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) informant Veysel Ateş were accused of bombing a bookstore owned by a former member of PKK,

İHD Hakkari branch responsible Necdet Korkmaz stated that Yılmaz is yet to be arrested and his lawyers had appealed to the prosecution’s demand.

Yılmaz had been condemned for “propagating in favor of the PKK” and was sentenced to a year in prison. Yet, he had already served nine months and was allegedly denied any deductions on grounds that he received disciplinary penalties while in prison.  

“In such cases, the sentences’ could be reduced in four thirds but I couldn’t benefit from this. This is unlawful and unacceptable. I’ll do what’s in my power to appeal to this decision.”(EÖ/AGÜ)