Turkish lawyer faces 7½ years in prison for “PKK propaganda”October 26, 2015 - 18:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish prosecutor is seeking 7½ years in prison for a prominent lawyer on charges of "making terrorist propaganda," the Associated Press reports. Tahir Elci, the head of the bar association in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, was briefly detained last week for saying during a live news program that the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is not a terrorist organization. His comments came amid renewed fighting between the PKK and Turkey's security forces following the collapse of peace talks. An Istanbul prosecutor's office insisted in an indictment on Monday, October 26, that Elci's comments amounted to terrorist propaganda. A court must approve the indictment before a trial can begin. Turkey and its allies consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization. The group has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984. Photo. Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |