Basından
From BBC Monitoring International Reports
Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
| August 27, 2002
Kurdish Institute head in Turkey acquitted of separatism charges.
(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)
Istanbul, 27 August: Hasan Kaya, Chairman of the Zen Science, Culture, Education, Press, Publishing and Advertising Limited Corporation, known as the "Kurdish Institute", has been acquitted in his trial on charges of having engaged in "separatist propaganda".
Hasan Kaya, who was not in custody, did not attend the trial session in Istanbul's DGM [State Security Court] No 2. He was represented at the session by his attorneys, Hasip Kaplan and Mehmet Emin Kaya.
State Prosecutor Mehmet Ergul, expressing his position on the substance of the case, called for a verdict of acquittal for the defendant.
The panel of judges stated that no information had been obtained to the effect that the defendant, Hasan Kaya, had engaged in separatist propaganda in meetings under the name of the "Kurdish Institute" at the Zen Science, Culture, Education, Press, Publishing, and Advertising Limited Corporation...
Hasan Kaya was being tried in accordance with Article 8 of the Counter-Terrorism Law on charges that separatist propaganda was spread at meetings of the "Kurdish Institute", and that there had been criminal offences contained in statements he had made and which were published in the 18 July 2000 edition of Yeni Gundem newspaper; a prison sentence from one to three years had been asked for.
Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in Turkish 1413 gmt 27 Aug 02
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