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ANKARA, July 20 (AFP) - 13h58 - Several
people were injured Wednesday when Kurdish
demonstrators and right-wing extremists clashed
outside a courthouse where four policemen were
appearing charged with the killing of a 12-year-old
Kurdish boy and his father, media reports said.
Fighting erupted when a group of far-right militants
wielding sticks attacked about 200 people
demonstrating in front of the courthouse in
Eskisehir, west of Ankara, before the hearing began,
the NTV news channel said.
Footage showed a young man with blood running down
his head being violently kicked on the ground before
a police officer intervened.
The Anatolia news agency said several people were
hurt, while NTV said one person sustained serious
injuries.
The Kurdish demonstrators were in Eskisehir for the
trial of four policemen for the shooting on November
21 last year of Ahmet Kaymaz and his 12-year-old son
Ugur outside their house in Kiziltepe, in the mainly
Kurdish southeastern province of Mardin.
Police said the pair were gunned down in an
operation against armed Kurdish rebels, but local
rights activists and neighbors said the two were
unarmed civilians.
A parliamentary investigation accused police of
"heavy negligence" and concluded that Kaymaz and his
son could have been captured unharmed.
If found guilty, the policemen could be jailed for
two to six years.
The trial that began in February in Mardin was moved
to Eskisehir at the request of defence lawyers who
said they feared for their clients' security.
The trial is seen as a further test of Turkey's
commitment to democracy and human rights as it seeks
to join the European Union.
AFP
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