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KCK trial: Defence Lawyers Disapprove of
Turkish Police Presence
21.10.2010
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October
21, 2010
DIYARBAKIR, Kurdish Southeastern
region of Turkey, — Tensions arouse in the third
hearing of the KCK trial in Diyarbakir. The defence
lawyers criticized the presence of plain-clothes
police officers in the courtroom and the
installation of a police cordon between the
defendants and their lawyers.
On the third day of the "KCK trial", the defence
lawyers demanded to remove plainclothes policemen
alleged to belong to the Anti-Terror Branch from the
courtroom.
The trial related to the Democratic Confederation of
Kurdistan (KCK) known as
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ANF photo. |
the umbrella
organization that includes the militant Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) is heard before the Diyarbakir
6th High Criminal Court. A total of
152
defendants face trial, 104 of them
are detained.
Joint attorney for the defence, Ercan Kanar, stated
that the trial could not be held in a democratic
manner as long as policemen were positioned in the
court room. "They may create pressure on the court
and they may also influence the defendants. They are
involved in the case anyways", he said and requested
to withdraw these police officers from the
courtroom.
According to the ANF news agency, irrelevant details
were included when the indictment was read out.
Lawyer Kanar demanded to omit those irrelevant parts
that would offend the defendants,www.ekurd.netspecifically
transcripts of phone calls of the defendants, ANF
reported.
The 7,578-page indictment prepared by the Diyarbakir
Public Prosecution asks for sentences between 15
years imprisonment and life sentences under charges
of "disrupting the unity of the state and the
integrity of the country", "membership and
leadership of a terrorist organization" and "aiding
and abetting a terrorist organization".
The reading of the summarized indictment stretched
into the afternoon session of the third hearing on
Wednesday (20 October). A discussion between the
court president and the defence lawyers occurred
over a supposed "hindering of contact between the
defence lawyers and the defendants by the security
forces".
ANF reported that the lawyers criticized the
security cordon set up between the attorneys and
their clients with the alleged purpose of
obstructing mutual contact. They claimed that this
was contrary to the law and requested to remove the
security forces from the court room. The court
dismissed the demand.
Lawyers Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Metin Yeliz and Meral
Danış Beştaş objected the rejection. The court
president replied, "We do not accept this request.
It creates a weakness in security".
Lawyer Bektaş responded, "Are we going to attack the
defendants or are they going to attack us? Is it
this kind of security weakness? I want this to be
included in the minutes". The court president
answered with a brief "OK", turned to the
prosecution and ordered to have the indictment read
without putting down anything to the record. The
indictment was summarized in 990 pages, however it
could not be finished reading in yesterday's
session.
Rejection of Kurdish
Defence Provokes Legal Action
The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for
Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUMDER) filed a criminal
complaint against the court board of the KCK case in
Diyarbakır on the grounds of the board's refusal to
permit the defence speeches to be delivered in
Kurdish. The case, which has received considerable
international attention, is tried before the 6th
High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır in south-eastern
Turkey.
The written announcement issued by Ahmet Faruk Ünsal,
President of MAZLUMDER, referred to the ratification
of international treaties as stipulated in the
constitution. It read, "According to Article 90 of
the Constitution which is still in effect,
international treaties related to fundamental rights
and freedoms prevail over the constitution".
"Article 39/5 of the Treaty of Lausanne as an
international agreement to establish the Turkish
Republic commits Turkish nationals to the
possibility to use their own language before the
courts. Accordingly, the court board committed the
offence of violating the constitution", Ünsal
explained.
He submitted the petition to the Ministry of Justice
on behalf of the association. He requested an
administrative and criminal investigation into the
court board of the Diyarbakir 6th High Criminal
Court.
Court dismissed the request for permission to
present the defence speeches in Kurdish as the
defendants' mother tongue. The defence lawyers
announced to insist on this subject.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency, bianet.org
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