The trial against the executives of the Kurdish Günlük newspaper, Filiz Koçali and Ramazan Pekgöz, is about to reach its final stage. The journalists are tried on the grounds of an interview with Murat Karayılan, head of the Steering Council of the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan (KCK), the umbrella organizations that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The case was continued at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court on Thursday (2 September). Lawyer Özcan Kılıç presented the defence for Koçali and Pekgöz, who did not attend the hearing. He said that the interview published in the newspaper has to be accounted for as part of the public's right to access information on different ideas.

Lawyer requested acquittal, prosecutor plead for imprisonment

The case prosecutor had previously presented his final plead and demanded the punishment of the defendants according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) on "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". Prosecutor Hüseyin Ayar reiterated the same request in Thursday's hearing. Pekgöz and Koçali are facing imprisonment of up to 7.5 years.

Defence lawyer Kılıç referred to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees the right to hold and express opinions including the people's right to be informed. Kılıç requested the acquittal of his clients.

Günlük newspaper owner Ziya Çiçekçi is tried in the scope of the same case. President Judge Ömer Diken postponed the trial to 23 November.

In the issues dated 7, 8 and 9 August 2009, the Kurdish Günlük newspaper had published the interview in three different sections entitled "We did what Hasan Cemal wanted", "I completely agree with Yaşar Kemal" and "If the state would take one step we would take two". On the basis of the interview the public chief prosecutor's office pressed charges of "spreading PKK propaganda". Further legal grounds of guilt were put forward because the statements conveyed in the interview stemmed from a member of the organization. (EÖ/VK)