Kirandi Case Sent to High Criminal Court

Four journalists and five human rights activists who were involved in the 2005 release of Turkish private Coskun Kirandi by his abducters, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), may face trial at a High Criminal Court unless their appeal is accepted.

The nine defendants involved either in receiving Kirandi from the organization or covering the release as a news story, faced a prosecutor's demand for 5 years imprisonment each at the Tunceli Criminal Court of First Instance.

In the last hearing of the case in Tunceli on September 15, despite appeals made by the defense, presiding judge Omur Akin agreed with the opinion of public prosecutor Ozgur Bozkurt that due to the nature of the offense, the case was not under the jurisdiction of the court and the trial should be conducted at a higher level court, namely the High Criminal Court.

Although the court decided under Criminal Procedures Code (CMK) articles 3 and 4 on a lack of jurisdiction in the case, judge Akin said this decision could be appealed against within 7 days prompting a statement by the defense counsel that this is exactly what they intended to do.

On trial in the case are are Human Rights Association (IHD) Regional Representative Mihri Perincek , IHD Diyarbakir Representative Selahattin Demirtas, Tunceli Mayoralty Provincial Council Ozgur Soylemez, artist Ferhat Tunc, journalist-writer Umur Hozatli and Dicle News Agency (DIHA) reporters Abdulkadir Ozbek and Rustu Demirkaya, Dogan News Agency (DHA) reporter Ferit Demir and Anatolian Agency (AA) reporter Haydar Toprakci.

The group is charged in relation to the August 4, 2005 release of a kidnapped Turkish soldier by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and accused of "conducting propaganda of the organization and its aims" either by being there to receive Kirandi and escort him to safety or for covering the release. (EO/II/YE)