Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RwISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETÎ
Turkish Daily News
FRIDAY. JUNE 16. ]995
Turkey could free some
Kurdish MPs after report
Turkey's ties with the European parliament
tensed further last week when
nationalist minister Ayvaz Gökdemirwas
quoted as describing as "prostitutes" three
Yazar: 'If the Court of
Appeals acts on the chief
prosecutorsinterpretation
...(deputies) Türk,
Yurtta~and Dogan,have
a chance of being freed'
By Hldlf Gökta~
Reuter
ANKARA. A senior Turkish prosecutor's
office said on Wednesday three
Kurdish MPs jailed for "separatism" were
.im~roperly charged, paving the way for
"theirpossible release, one of their lawyers
said.
.... If the Court of Appeals acts on the
chief prosecutor' s Interpretation ...
(deputies) Ahmet Türk, Sedat Yurtta~ and
Orhan Dogan, have a chance. of being
freed," Fendun Yazar, a lawyer for the
MPs, told Reuters.
Türk and Do~an are serving 15 year
jail terms, while Yurtta~ is serving 7 1/2
years. .
The arrest and conviction in December
of ei$ht Kurdish MPs on charges of com~
pliclt}' with the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), has undermined
Ankara's ties with the West and cast .a
cloud over its bid for a customs accord
with the EU. The prosecutor's report rec.
ommended that threeother jailed Kurdish
deputies - Leyla lana, Hatip Dicle and
Selim Sadak - serve out their I5-year
sentences.
Two other deputies were freed for time.
already served when the trial ended in
'December.
"That the report conflicts (with the
original charges) ... shows the political
nature of the case," Yazar said. "All the
accused have the same status. They
should all be released."
A copy of the report, carried on the private
National Press Agency (UBA), said
AhmetTürk
Türk and Yùrtta~ should have been tried
for "separatist propaganda" under article
8 of Turkey's notonous anti-terror law
and Dobn for having given help to the
PKK. Both charges carry lesser jail
terms.
The European parliament, a critic of
Turkey's human rights record which is
due to vote on Turkey's customs union
with the.EU in October,says the approval
hinges;dn..the release of the deputies ..
'''Turkey wants customs union and
membership of the European Union,"
Yazar said. "It has become clear that it
will not be admitted unless it conforms to
EP (European parliament) conditions."
The government, struggling to liberalize
Turkey's post-military coup constitution
as a first step towards greater democracy,
says it cannot influence the judiciary.
Article 8, which has caused scores of
writers, intellectuals and unionists to be
jailed for speeches and writings, is also a
sore point with the European parliament,
which would like to see it scrapped.
Orhan DoOan
SedalYumali
woman Euro-MPs who asked for the
release of the six deputies.
Wednesday's report by Turkey's court
of appeals chief prosecutor's office must
be approved by the "ninth department". a
body of nine people dealing with appeals
of terror convictions.
No date has been set for the body to
review the report, but the ninth department
usually approves such recommendations.
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