Turkey Continues Its Terror Against Kurdish
Nation
Diyarbakir mayor's HR activist wife faces 2
years behind bars
The New Anatolian / Ankara
28 February 2007
The wife of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party's (DTP) controversial
Diyarbakir mayor faces 2 years behind bars following charges filed yesterday of
interfering in the judicial process.
The Tarsus Public Prosecutor's Office, in the country's south, completed an
indictment against lawyer Reyhan Yalcindag Baydemir, deputy chair of the Human
Rights Association (IHD) and wife of Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, who has
gained a profile with several legal challenges over allegations of links to the
terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and several Kurdish figures.
The indictment accuses the lawyer of interfering in the judicial process through
remarks defending a group of children who stood trial on charges of burning a
Turkish flag during Newroz celebrations in the southern province of Mersin two
years ago.
The indictment said that lawyer Baydemir, making a press statement after a court
session, told reporters that these children were not offenders but victims,
adding that this was a plot in which these children were used as tools.
The six children were released as they were underage, however the incident
caused a strong public reaction as it occurred amid already raised tensions in
the country regarding a rise in terror.
The Nevruz celebrations were organized in Mersin by the now-defunct pro-Kurdish
Democratic People's Party (DEHAP).
Court fines district mayor for allocating municipal vehicle to PKK supporters
In related news, a local court handed down a fine of YTL 3,000 to Diyarbakir's
Kayapinar district Mayor Zulkuf Karatekin for helping a group of women who two
years ago planted trees to mark the birthday of Abdullah Ocalan, inmate leader
of the PKK.
Karatekin allocated a vehicle owned by the municipality to the women, said the
Diyarbakir court, but the mayor defended himself saying helping people for
social events is among the responsibilities of the municipalities. "Party (DTP)
officials asked for a vehicle to plant saplings and we gave it," he added.
Several mayors from the DTP, including Osman Baydemir, have faced prison terms
for allocating municipality vehicles in order to carry the bodies of PKK
members.
DTP invites Talabani to Nevruz celebrations
Also yesterday, DTP leader Ahmet Turk and his deputy Aysel Tugluk sent an
invitation card in Kurdish to Jalal Talabani, Iraqi president and leader of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for the approaching Newroz celebrations.
