The trial of six Kurds accused of having links to an organisation proscribed in the UK started in London on Tuesday. At the full day hearing, one defendant was remanded in custody, while the remaining five were released on bail. The six were arrested on 27 November in a series of dawn raids on the Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey, London, and the homes of activists. A seventh detainee was released without charge.
The six remaining defendants are Kurdish People’s Democratic Assembly of Britain Co-chair Türkan Özcan (59), politician and writer Ali Poyraz (62), Berfin Kerban (31), Ercan Akbal (56), Ağıt Karataş (23) and Mazlum Sayak (27). Only Karataş and Sayak attended the hearing. All six were accused having links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK, the US and a number of other countries.
Among the evidence cited were a number of publications found at the Kurdish Community Centre relating to PKK members Mazlum Doğan and Hayri Durmuş, both of whom died by their own hands in protest at conditions in the notorious Diyarbakır prison during the aftermath of Turkey’s 1980 military coup.
Sayak was remanded in custody as a flight risk as he has an outstanding claim to asylum, while the remainder were remanded on bail of £20,000 each. Their bail conditions included electronic tags, signing on daily at the police station, staying away from Haringey area and the Kurdish Cultural Centre and a 7pm to 6am curfew. They were also forbidden from communicating with each other.
The dawn raids and arrests have caused consternation among the Kurdish community, and have been the cause of protests, demonstrations, online campaigns and petitions in London and further afield.
Acting Police Commander Helen Flanagan said: “We fully recognise the concern and impact this investigation has had upon the local community,” but added that they would “investigate and take action to disrupt” potential terrorist activity, while Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines said: “We will continue to engage with Kurdish community members going forwards to keep them updated and address any concerns.”
However, trust between the Metropolitan Police and the Kurdish community was “irrevocably damaged” by the raids, warned pro-Kurdish rights campaigner and Medya News contributor Mark Campbell, in the aftermath of the raids. Reacting to the charges, he told City London News that Kurds have been made a scapegoat by the UK government, “This is the worst repression by the British government on the Kurdish community in the past 30 years and it begs the question, why now?”
The trial is to resume on 20 December.
