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Kurd politician jailed for calling rebel leader Mr

06 Mar 2007 14:20:34 GMT
Source: Reuters

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 6 (Reuters) - A Kurdish politician has been sentenced to six months for referring to jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr Ocalan", Turkish court officials said on Tuesday.

The court said the use of 'Mister' implied respect for Ocalan, considered a terrorist in Turkey for masterminding a decades-long separatist revolt in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

It is the second jail sentence in a matter of days meted out to Ahmet Turk, leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Turk is appealing against an 18-month sentence imposed last week for praising Ocalan.

As a party leader, Turk has influence over public opinion, said the court in Diyarbakir, largest city of the southeast.

Diyarbakir's head prosecutor had requested a two-year jail term for Turk.

In last week's court case, Turk and his deputy Aysel Tugluk were each sentenced to 18 months in prison over the distribution of DTP leaflets in the Kurdish language. Turkish law allows distribution of political literature only in Turkish.

The DTP campaigns for more cultural and political rights for Turkey's estimated 12-15 millions Kurds. Turkish nationalists say it is a mouthpiece for the PKK and say it should be banned, as previous pro-Kurdish parties have been.

Ankara blames Ocalan and his banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

Ocalan, captured in 1999, is serving a life sentence in isolation on an island near Istanbul. On Monday, the government said a team of doctors were conducting medical tests on Ocalan in a bid to disprove claims by his lawyers he is being poisoned.

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Last updated:Tue Mar 6 14:21:57 2007