International Press Institute
AFP
I.P.I criticized Turkey over the trail of a Kurdish journalist who is threatened with 525 years in jail.
I.P.I criticized Turkey over the trail of a Kurdish journalist who is threatened with 525 years in jail.
An international press freedom group on Monday criticised Turkey over the trial of a Kurdish journalist who is threatened with 525 years in jail.
Vedat Kursun, former head of the daily Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat, is accused of publishing articles "glorifying crimes and criminals" and "helping the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) in their propaganda".
The prosecution has requested 525 years in prison for Kursun who has been detained for 13 months and is awaiting the verdict from the court in Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey.
"This is not the first time that the authorities have used anti-terrorism laws to stifle freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey," International Press Institute (IPI) director David Dadge said in a statement.
Kursun's successor at Azadiya Welat was sentenced to 21 years in prison on February 12 on similar charges, the IPI said.
The IPI singled out Turkey for criticism in their last annual report on press freedom around the world.
Since 1984 PKK took up arms for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey (Turkey-Kurdistan) which has claimed around 45,000 lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK guerrillas. A large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which overturned a decision to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its political wing on the European Union's terror list.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds' identity in its constitution and of their language as a native language along with Turkish in the country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and constitution against Kurds, ranting them full political freedoms.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish language and private Kurdish language courses with the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians say the measures fall short of their expectations.
Last August, the government announced plans to expand Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support for the PKK and end the insurgency.
Although the drive faltered amid a ban on the country's main Kurdish DTP party, street protests and PKK violence, Ankara has vowed to push ahead with the reforms.
