19/05/2010 20:08
Kurdish Journalist jailed for 166 years in Turkey
On May 13, the Court in Diyarbakir sentenced a Kurdish-language newspaper journalist, Vedat Kurşun, to 166 years and six months in prison for spreading propaganda about the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The court ruled that Vedat Kursun had "disseminated the propaganda of a terrorist organization" on 103 different occasions by publishing news stories and photographs about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party in the Azadiya Welat (Independence of Homeland) daily.
In an announcement made by the Azadiya Welat daily, the decision was described as "illegal" and "politically motivated.” The newspaper urged rights institutions to react to the decision.