Kurdish politicians lawyers boycotting trial
Kurdish politicians lawyers boycotting trial
Lawyers for Kurdish politicians at the so called KCK (Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan) trial in Diyarbakir have decided once more to boycott the hearing. The defense lawyers are arguing that their clients have the right to defend themselves in Kurdish, while the Court says they haven't. When the KCK trial resumed on Monday, lawyers walked out and staged a sit in protest. Today they have decided to continue with their protest. Outside the court lawyers answered questions by many local and foreign journalists.
The trial see over 150 Kurdish politicians and human rights activists in the dock accused of allegedly representing the urban wing of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The biggest trial opened in Diyarbakir on 18 October last year.
In a series of police operations beginning on 14 April 2009 and referred to in the press as the ‘KCK operations’, 151 people were detained on the basis of alleged links to illegal organisations. These people included lawyers, mayors, politicians, trade unionists, and human rights activists, and were recently brought to trial together in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
KCK is the acronym for Koma Civaken Kurdistan (Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan). As the KCK is alleged to be the civil/political wing of the outlawed group and is, therefore, also an illegal organisation. Members of the pro- Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have been accused of being members of these illegal organisations. Only 15 days after the party’s significant gain in the March 2009 local elections, where it won a further 45 municipalities, mass raids were carried out at the homes, businesses and offices of mayors, party activists, human rights advisors, lawyers and many others, pursuant to the KCK operations.
The subsequent trial relating to the KCK operations began on 18 October 2010 at the Special State Penal Court. By the time the trial began many of the defendants had been in custody for a period of 18 months. The trial was an unusual case primarily due to its size: there were 151 defendants represented by 250 lawyers, with an indictment against them of 7,500 pages and further supporting evidence of 130,000 pages. Much of the evidence had apparently been gathered from wiretapping and phone bugging, and there was a lack of clarity regarding the exact charges, and the basis for such charges, against each defendant.
The trial is significant for the individual defendants, with each facing possible jail sentences of 15 years-to-life if found guilty. Further, the timing of the arrests has led many observers to question the state of democracy in Turkey. The number of defendants, their prolonged detention, the questionable means of collecting evidence, as well as the Court’s attitude towards the use of the Kurdish language in the trial, has fanned fears that the accusations are politically motivated rather than based on violations of the law. Therefore, the trial is of a wider significance in terms of the implications it raises regarding democracy in Turkey and the state’s attitude towards a political resolution of the Kurdish question.
The trial see over 150 Kurdish politicians and human rights activists in the dock accused of allegedly representing the urban wing of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The biggest trial opened in Diyarbakir on 18 October last year.
In a series of police operations beginning on 14 April 2009 and referred to in the press as the ‘KCK operations’, 151 people were detained on the basis of alleged links to illegal organisations. These people included lawyers, mayors, politicians, trade unionists, and human rights activists, and were recently brought to trial together in Diyarbakir, Turkey.
KCK is the acronym for Koma Civaken Kurdistan (Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan). As the KCK is alleged to be the civil/political wing of the outlawed group and is, therefore, also an illegal organisation. Members of the pro- Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have been accused of being members of these illegal organisations. Only 15 days after the party’s significant gain in the March 2009 local elections, where it won a further 45 municipalities, mass raids were carried out at the homes, businesses and offices of mayors, party activists, human rights advisors, lawyers and many others, pursuant to the KCK operations.
The subsequent trial relating to the KCK operations began on 18 October 2010 at the Special State Penal Court. By the time the trial began many of the defendants had been in custody for a period of 18 months. The trial was an unusual case primarily due to its size: there were 151 defendants represented by 250 lawyers, with an indictment against them of 7,500 pages and further supporting evidence of 130,000 pages. Much of the evidence had apparently been gathered from wiretapping and phone bugging, and there was a lack of clarity regarding the exact charges, and the basis for such charges, against each defendant.
The trial is significant for the individual defendants, with each facing possible jail sentences of 15 years-to-life if found guilty. Further, the timing of the arrests has led many observers to question the state of democracy in Turkey. The number of defendants, their prolonged detention, the questionable means of collecting evidence, as well as the Court’s attitude towards the use of the Kurdish language in the trial, has fanned fears that the accusations are politically motivated rather than based on violations of the law. Therefore, the trial is of a wider significance in terms of the implications it raises regarding democracy in Turkey and the state’s attitude towards a political resolution of the Kurdish question.
