ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Criminal charges against persons alleged to have carried out activities with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) cannot be classified as terrorism as they fall within an armed conflict, a Belgian court ruled on Thursday.
A Brussels criminal court made the judgement in the case of 36 people accused of membership in a terrorist group and carrying out terrorist activities, deciding that the PKK’s activities cannot be described as terrorism but rather an “armed campaign,” Belgian media reported.
Those standing trial, including Remzi Kartal and Zubeydir Aydar, who were president and vice president, respectively, of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in 2010, were accused of recruiting minors in Belgium and other western countries and taking them to training camps in Iraq and Greece, producing and selling false papers, and fundraising, often under threat.
Ozan Ceyhun, a former member of the European Parliament, described the decision as a scandal against humanity. “When the judges sober up, maybe they will realize what they have done,” he told Turkish news outlet Daily Sabah.
The case has been ongoing for a decade with an investigation first launched in 2006. The federal prosecutor has the option of appealing the court’s decision.
A Brussels criminal court made the judgement in the case of 36 people accused of membership in a terrorist group and carrying out terrorist activities, deciding that the PKK’s activities cannot be described as terrorism but rather an “armed campaign,” Belgian media reported.
Those standing trial, including Remzi Kartal and Zubeydir Aydar, who were president and vice president, respectively, of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in 2010, were accused of recruiting minors in Belgium and other western countries and taking them to training camps in Iraq and Greece, producing and selling false papers, and fundraising, often under threat.
The KNK, an umbrella group of Kurdish political and social organizations, welcomed the decision, stating “This resolution recognizes that a war is going on in Turkey and that the allegations of the Turkish state, saying that the Kurds are terrorists, is false,” in an official statement.
Ozan Ceyhun, a former member of the European Parliament, described the decision as a scandal against humanity. “When the judges sober up, maybe they will realize what they have done,” he told Turkish news outlet Daily Sabah.
The case has been ongoing for a decade with an investigation first launched in 2006. The federal prosecutor has the option of appealing the court’s decision.
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