Turkey tries over 50 Kurdish mayors over TV station support

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa
Published: Tuesday September 26, 2006

Ankara- The trial began in the south-eastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday of 56 Kurdish mayors accused of aiding the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Ankara. The defendants are accused of writing a letter to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen urging him to allow a pro-Kurd television station, which is banned in Turkey but which broadcasts from Denmark, remain on the air. The Ankara government accuses the Roj TV channel of being a "mouthpiece" for the PKK and has demanded that Copenhagen revoke its broadcasting licence.

The mayors, among them Osman Baydemir, prominent mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, face prison terms of up to 15 years if convicted, news agency Anadolu reported.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa