10-Month Prison Sentence for Kurdish Politician Ayna
The Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court sentenced independent MP Emine Ayna to imprisonment of ten months. The conviction was based on a speech delivered by the politician at the Newroz festival in Siirt (south-eastern Turkey) in 2007.
31 un-detained defendants were tried in the scope of the same case, none of them attended the final hearing as reported on 16 June.
The prosecution said in their final plea, "It was evident that the Newroz celebration in Siirt on 21 March 2007 was turned into propaganda for the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party]. 24 of the defendants made propaganda for an illegal organization by carrying pieces of cloth that featured symbols of the terrorist organization and by unfolding posters that showed the leaders of the organization".
The court board handed down prison terms of ten months each to 25 defendants, including Emine Ayna, on charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" according to Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law. Six defendants were acquitted. (HK/VK)