TURKEY: MAIN KURDISH PARTY LEADER MURAT BOZLAK IS ARRESTED BY TURKISH COURT ACCUSED OF HAVING LINKS WITH THE KURDISH WORKERS PARTY (PKK)

Record ID: 500867

  • Title: TURKEY: MAIN KURDISH PARTY LEADER MURAT BOZLAK IS ARRESTED BY TURKISH COURT ACCUSED OF HAVING LINKS WITH THE KURDISH WORKERS PARTY (PKK)
  • Date: 19th November 1998
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (NOVEMBER 19, 1998) (REUTERS) VARIOUS PEOPLES' DEMOCRACY PARTY (HADEP) LEADER MURAT BOZLAK ENTERING THE STATE SECURITY COURT SLV/MV POLICE SECURITY IN FRONT OF THE HADEP BUILDING (3 SHOTS) (NIGHTSHOTS) VARIOUS CIVIL POLICE AT THE DOOR (2 SHOTS) PAN DOCUMENTS BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE OFFICE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BEEN DETAINED TAKEN OUT OF THE BUILDING AND BEING PUT IN POLICE VANS CLOSE-UPS PEOPLE IN THE POLICE VAN VARIOUS VAN DRIVING AWAY/ SECURITY/ POLICE VEHICLES LEAVING (5 SHOTS) SV WOMAN SHOUTING NAMES OF MEMBERS DETAINED SV SECURITY OUTSIDE BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 4th December 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1C7LFYYUQOKYZCEUXNEDZEKZR
  • Story Text: A Turkish court has arrested the country's main Kurdish party leader, accusing him of having links to Abdullah Ocalan's separatist rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
    Murat Bozlak, leader of the Peoples' Democracy Party (HADEP), was arrested on Thursday (November 19) after the party allegedly organised a nationwide hunger strike.
    The protest had been held at HADEP offices to protest at Ocalan's capture last week in Italy.
    Anti-terror police teams raided HADEP headquarters and offices nationwide in an official crackdown amid growing public anger at signs that Italy will not extradite the PKK chief.
    Turkey has called for the extradition of Ocalan, who is seeking political asylum.
    HADEP, the country's only legal Kurdish party, favours a negotiated solution to Turkey's 14-year-old Kurdish conflict.
    A party official told reporters that police arrested 60 people, including HADEP Ankara representative Kemal Bulbul, in raids on party offices in Ankara.
    A further 190 people, including local HADEP leaders, are believed to have been arrested during police searches on party offices in the towns of Bursa, Van and Antalya.
    The Ankara office of Kurdish newspaper Ulkede Gundem was also searched by police.The newspaper said in October it had closed down in line with a court order for "inciting hatred"
    in an article.
    Earlier in the week more than 500 people were detained during police raids on HADEP offices elsewhere in Turkey.A party official has said police carried out the raids after relatives of hunger striking Kurd rebel prisoners held a protest in party offices.
    Turkey holds Ocalan and his PKK responsible for the deaths of more than 29,000 people during the conflict in southeastern Turkey where the PKK seeks self rule.
    On Tuesday, a court in Ankara sentenced Bozlak to a year in jail for speeches made in 1993 but his arrest on Thursday appeared unrelated to this sentence.
    Bozlak and 14 other members of a now-banned predecessor party were found to have spread "separatist propaganda" in various publications and speeches.
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