107 Kurdish politicans, activists receive record prison sentences in KCK case

KCK operations have been launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2009.

In the scope of the The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) main trial, which was held at Diyarbakır 2nd Heavy Penal Court for 8 years, 154 Kurdish politicians and activists have stood trial on Tuesday.

While 43 defendants were acquitted, 107 others received record sentences. Cases of the 4 defendants who have lost their lives during the course of the trial were dismissed.

According to report by pro-Kurdish news sources, co-chairs, deputies, mayors, council members, human rights defenders, journalists and intellectuals are included in the 154 people who are prosecuted in the framework of “KCK” operations have been launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in 2009.

More than a hundred lawyers attended the last hearing where none of the defendants was present. The court board started announcing the verdicts as soon as lawyers entered the hearing room.

The court has sentenced Ercan Akyol to 18 years; Fırat Anlı, the suspended co-mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, to 6 years and 3 months; former pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) deputy Demir Çelik to 6 years and 3 months; DTK Co-chair Hatip Dicle to 9 years; Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor to 1 year and 3 months.

March 28, 2017

Take a second to support Stockholm Center for Freedom on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!