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ANKARA, Feb 25 (AFP) - Four Kurdish former
lawmakers, including award-winning human rights
activist Leyla Zana, pleaded innocent and asked for
a fair hearing Friday in a high-profile retrial for
alleged links with armed Kurdish rebels.
"I reject the accusations," Zana told the court in
Ankara in her first defence argument in the trial.
"The trial should be fair and in line with the
decision of the (Turkish) appeals court and the
European Court of Human Rights."
Her colleagues and co-defendants -- Hatip Dicle,
Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan -- also pleaded not
guilty.
The court set the next hearing for April 22 after
the defence team asked for more time to present
their view on how the retrial should be conducted in
light of recent legal amendments aimed at drawing
Turkey closer to the European Union.
Zana and her colleagues are standing trial for the
third time on charges of colloborating with an armed
Kurdish rebellion in southeastern Turkey.
They were released in June after 10 years in jail
and are unlikely to go back to prison even if they
are convicted again.
They were allowed a retrial in March 2004 thanks to
democracy reforms that Turkey adopted in a bid to
boost its prospects for EU membership.
They have been adopted as prisoners of conscience by
the EU, and the European Parliament awarded Zana its
prestigious Sakharov human rights prize in 1995.
A court in Ankara confirmed their sentences earlier
this year, but the appeals court overturned the
ruling, paving the way for their current retrial.
AFP
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