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ANKARA, July 28 (AFP) - 17h27 - A Turkish court
on Thursday sentenced a politician from a
pro-Kurdish party to 10 months' imprisonment for
using a term of civility while referring to jailed
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, the Anatolia
news agency reported.
It was the second time Bedri Firat, head of the
Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) branch in the
eastern city of Erzurum, had been tried for
referring to Ocalan as "Sayin" -- a word meaning
esteemed or honorable, but which also doubles for "Mr"
-- in a television interview last year.
Firat was acquitted in the first trial, but the
prosecutor appealed the verdict and he was sentenced
on retrial.
"I have never seen such punishment meted out for
using the word 'Sayin'," Firat told Anatolia. "I
hope the appeals court will overturn the verdict".
Ocalan is the head of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), which recently intensified the
armed campaign it has pursued against Ankara since
1984 with a loss of some 37,000 lives.
The rebel leader, who was captured in 1999, is
serving a life sentence on a prison island in
northwestern Turkey.
Turkish authorities are prompt to crack down on any
acts or remarks that could signify support or
sympathy for Kurdish separatism, and in Turkish
official parlance, Ocalan is often referred to as
"the chief terrorist".
AFP
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