EU Calls for DEP MPs Immediate Release
"It was with great disappointment that we have learnt this morning of the decision of the State Security Court in Ankara confirming the 15 year prison sentence given to Leyla Zana, winner of the EP Sakharov Prize, and to Orhan Dogan, Selim Sadak and Hatip Dicle."
"The European Parliament appointed a special delegation to observe the re-trial. We observed during the trial that the judges and prosecutors have failed to respect the rights of the defense and due process by refusing to allow defense witnesses to be questioned. Many NGOs and lawyers representing human rights organizations in Turkey and other countries have also expressed the view that the procedures followed amount to a violation of the ECHR."
Lagendijk and European Parliament hope that the Turkish Court of Appeal will put an end to the repeated injustices committed against Leyla Zana and her colleagues. In the meantime we call for their immediate release.
Leyla Zana was originally charged on 6 November 1991 for having spoken in Kurdish during the inauguration the Turkish National Assembly and for having said the words: "I take this oath in the name of fraternity between the Turkish and Kurdish peoples" and on 4 March 1994 was arrested within the precincts of the National Assembly and taken to prison.
She and her colleagues were sentenced on 8 December 1994 to 15 years' imprisonment for supporting a terrorist organization, despite the fact that this point was not mentioned in the original charges.
Lagendijk, in his statement, said, "The European Court of Human Rights noted in its judgment of 17 July 2001 that the practice followed during the trial of Leyla Zana was in breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Basic aspects of the right to a fair trial had not been respected."
The recent reforms of the judicial system incorporating the rulings of the European Court of Human Right into Turkish law allowed the trial of Leyla Zana and her colleagues to be reopened in March 2003.
"We note today that the conduct of the retrial since it was reopened by the State Security Court is regarded by NGOs and human rights lawyers as a violation of the Human Rights Convention, " Lagendijk told.
"We are convinced that the State Security Court cannot guarantee the impartiality of the legal proceedings against Leyla Zana and her colleagues and therefore approve the Government's plan to abolish this body." (YE)