Courts still refusing to accept defense in Kurdish
Courts still refusing to accept defense in Kurdish
Rights to defend oneself in mother language is still denied in Turkish courts. Indeed Kurdish politicians currently in prison have decided to boycott courts and hearings until their request to be able to defend themselves in Kurdish is not recognized. So far the courts refuse to accept any defense given in Kurdish
The first time anyone requested to use Kurdish in a courtroom defense was on July 21, 2010 at the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court where 10 defendants were being tried. The judge answered their request saying that “Because the defendants speak Turkish better than a Turk, I am rejecting their request.”
Later, during the so called KCK (Kurdish Communities Confederation) case, 104 of the 152 defendants requested to give their defense in their first language. Their requests were also rejected. Some courts use Kurdish translators, but generally the courts regard Kurdish as an “unintelligible language.”
In addition, the Ministry of Labor launched an investigation into some of its directors for hanging signs in both Turkish and Kurdish in Bismil.
Bismil Mayor Cemile Eminoðlu and City Council members defended themselves as “The constitution and municipal laws ensure that municipal services have to have suitable methods to serve residents.”
The mayor of Diyarbakýr’s Sur District, Abdullah Demirbaþ, along with city council members and the Diyarbakýr Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Osman Baydemir, were on trial for giving “multilingual municipal service in 2007 and they were acquitted.
The first time anyone requested to use Kurdish in a courtroom defense was on July 21, 2010 at the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court where 10 defendants were being tried. The judge answered their request saying that “Because the defendants speak Turkish better than a Turk, I am rejecting their request.”
Later, during the so called KCK (Kurdish Communities Confederation) case, 104 of the 152 defendants requested to give their defense in their first language. Their requests were also rejected. Some courts use Kurdish translators, but generally the courts regard Kurdish as an “unintelligible language.”
In addition, the Ministry of Labor launched an investigation into some of its directors for hanging signs in both Turkish and Kurdish in Bismil.
Bismil Mayor Cemile Eminoðlu and City Council members defended themselves as “The constitution and municipal laws ensure that municipal services have to have suitable methods to serve residents.”
The mayor of Diyarbakýr’s Sur District, Abdullah Demirbaþ, along with city council members and the Diyarbakýr Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Osman Baydemir, were on trial for giving “multilingual municipal service in 2007 and they were acquitted.
