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| The Grand Turk |
| Dozens Stand Trial in Turkey for Links to Kurdish Rebels |
| 2012-09-11 |
| [An Nahar] Forty-four people, many of them journalists, went on trial in Turkey Monday for alleged links to outlawed Kurdish rebels amid protests from human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights,mind you... activists and opposition politicians. The suspects are accused of links with the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), an organization deemed by the authorities to be the urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "We will not yield to pressure," and "free press cannot be silenced!" shouted a group of demonstrators who gathered at the Istanbul court to protest the trial they deemed an attack against freedom of speech in Turkey. Prosecutors accuse the 44 defendants of crimes including "membership in an armed organization," which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to the Anatolia news agency. At least 12 of the suspects face up to 22 and a half years in prison on charges of "forming and running an armed organization". |
| Posted by:Fred |