In yesterday’s hearing at the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court, lawyers for the PKK’s urban arm, the Kurdistan Communities’ Union/Turkey Council (KCK/TM), claimed their clients were only active in a political party and were innocent of the terrorism-related crimes they were being accused of. A total of 101 suspects attended yesterday’s session, which was the 16th hearing since the start of the trial last year.
Lawyer Sedat Yurttaş said it was not them but their clients who should speak in the trial, but they were being prevented from defending themselves in their native language. He said even the “fascistic courts of the Sept. 12, 1980 period,” allowed suspects to testify in Kurdish. Recalling presiding judge Menderes Yılmaz’s remarks that the court “respected the Kurdish language,” he said the respect should be manifested in action, not just words.
Meanwhile, other PKK-related accusations being heard by separate courts in Diyarbakır, where some of the KCK case suspects are among the accused, were merged with the KCK trial, the court announced yesterday.
Lawyers for Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir and Sur Mayor Abdullah Demirtaş, who are both suspects in the KCK trial, demanded that a court order banning international travel for the two men be lifted.
There are a total of 152 suspects in the KCK trial. They stand accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization, and attempting to destroy the country’s unity and integrity.
