Turkish Court: Speaking Kurdish is bad conduct

Heavy sentences against people speaking in Kurdish

Diyarbakir Heavy Criminal Court rejected to apply ‘good conduct abatement’ to 3 defendants who defended themselves in Kurdish during the trial. While the court did not let the defendants speak Kurdish and delivered the judgement without listening to the defence. While the 3 Kurdish speaking defendants were sentenced to 15 year-imprisonment another defendants who spoke Turkish was sentenced to 12 years.

Six people Abbas Kaya, Hamdullah Bağdaş, Abdülbari Kalkan ve Netice Kalkan who were on trial on account of being member of PKK. While all six were found guilty Diyarbakir Court accepted speaking Kurdish before the court as bad conduct and sentenced 3 defendants who spoke Kurdish 3 years more that the other defendant merely because of speaking Kurdish. The court has also connected the attitude of the defandants with the ongoing mother tongue campaign.

ANF / DIYARBAKIR

ANF NEWS AGENCY