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Turkey overturns soldiers' conviction over bombing
16.5.2007 |
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May
16, 2007
ANKARA, -- A Turkish appeals court on
Wednesday overturned heavy jail sentences imposed on
two soldiers over a deadly 2005 bomb attack
allegedly aimed at creating unrest in the country's
mainly Kurdish southeast, the Anatolia news agency
reported.
The soldiers' conviction was seen by many as a test
for Ankara to shed light on rogue elements in the
security forces accused of operating outside the law
in their struggle against a 22-year bloody Kurdish
insurgency.
The appeals court ruled unanimously in favour of
overturning the verdict against sergeants Ali Kaya
and Ozcan Ildeniz on grounds of procedural flaws and
inadequate investigation.
The judges also said that the defendants should be
tried by a military court since the charges relate
to the army's struggle against the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) which picked up arms in 1984
for self-rule in southeastern Turkey, Anatolia said.
The two men were sentenced by a civilian court in
the eastern city of Van to prison terms of 39 years
and five months each in June last year over a
November 2005 bomb attack against a bookstore in
Semdinli, Hakkari province.
The same court later sentenced a third man --
described in the indictment as a former PKK member
who turned informer in 2004 -- to 39 years and 10
months in jail. His sentence is also under appeal.
The bombing of the bookstore owned by a former PKK
militant suspected of still aiding the group killed
one person and sparked deadly riots in the remote
region that abuts Iraq and Iran.
The indictment described the attack as an act of
provocation aiming to stir unrest among Kurds,
discredit the government and undermine Turkey's bid
to join the European Union.
The bombing was mentioned in a critical report
published by the European Commission last year as an
example of insufficient civilian control over
security forces in Turkey and continuing army
influence in politics despite reforms to limit the
military's role in decision-making.
AFP
** The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan ( Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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