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Turkey: Court rejects Kurdish rebel
leader's retrial
6.5.2006
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ANKARA, May 5,
2006 (AFP) - A Turkish court on Friday rejected a
petition by jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah
Ocalan to be retried, despite a ruling by the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that his 1999
trial was unfair, the Anatolia news agency reported.
"It is no surprise. We were expecting this
decision," one of Ocalan's lawyers, Hatice Korkut,
told AFP.
She said an appeal was possible, but Ocalan's
defense team would study the court's ruling before
deciding how to proceed.
Ocalan, leader of the separatist Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK), qualifieed as a terrorist group by
Ankara and much of the international community, had
asked for a retrial in January. |
Abdullah Ocalan, Kurdish leader |
His request poses a legal challenge to the
government because current laws do not allow for his
retrial, although Ankara is under pressure to comply
with ECHR rulings.
A 2003 law that allows for the review of sentences
condemned by the ECHR sets a timeframe for
admissible applications that explicitly excludes
Ocalan's case.
"The parliament must amend this provision because it
is clearly in breach of the principle of equality,"
Korkut said.
A possible retrial could unleash fierce public anger
in Turkey, where Ocalan is widely seen as public
enemy number one.
The issue has become even more explosive in recent
weeks amid increasing PKK violence and a major
military build-up against the rebels in the mainly
Kurdish southeast.
Ocalan, 57, was condemned to death in 1999 for
treason, but his sentence was commuted to life
imprisonment in 2002 after Turkey abolished capital
punishment as part of efforts to align with European
Union norms.
The ECHR ruled last May that the court that
convicted Ocalan was not impartial because it
included a military judge during part of the trial
and because Ocalan and his lawyers lacked sufficient
time and opportunity to prepare their defense.
Ankara has said it will respect the ruling, but the
authorities have so far failed to say how they will
proceed.
Officials have said a possible retrial will seek to
correct procedural flaws but cannot result in a
lighter verdict for Ocalan.
The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has claimed some
37,000 lives since the PKK took up arms for
self-rule in the southeast in 1984.
AFP
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