Prosecutors in Diyarbakir in the restless Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey have charged 175 people with involvement in violent clashes last month, court sources said Friday. Charges include violation of laws on demonstrations, and one of operating and membership of an armed group - a reference to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), accused of orchestrating the riots.If convicted of the charges, the accused will face possible sentences ranging from three years to life imprisonment. The latest charges bring the number indicted so far to 265, including 80 minors who could face up to 24 years in prison.
Riots erupted in Diyarbakir, the main town of the Kurdish region, on March 28 after youths demanding vengeance attacked the police following the funerals of PKK rebels killed in fighting with Turkish armed forces. A total of 16 people, including three small boys, were killed when security forces opened fire and used tear gas to disperse crowds, which attacked the police with Molotov cocktails and vandalized public buildings and shops. Three women were crushed to death in Istanbul when Kurdish rioters set a city bus ablaze with a petrol bomb.
Court officials said legal proceedings were in progress against some 171 people, of whom 135 were in detention. The prosecution has already charged suspects with offenses including membership in an armed organization, damaging public property, preventing public servants from carrying out their duties and breaching the country's law on meetings and demonstrations.