US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6570

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 006570 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2008 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU 
SUBJECT: COURT CONTINUES TO DENY RELEASE OF LEYLA ZANA, 
CO-DEFENDANTS 
 
 
REF: ANKARA 5217 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
(U) Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and 
d. 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: An Ankara court continues to refuse to 
release Leyla Zana and three other Kurdish former MPs pending 
the outcome of their retrial.  The defense has sought the 
release in each of the trial's eight hearings.  Defense 
attorneys and a member of Parliament argued at the last 
session that the court's refusal violates the rulings of the 
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).  An EU contact told us 
the EU will criticize the conduct of the trial in its 
upcoming Progress Report on Turkey.  End Summary. 
 
 
2. (U) An Ankara State Security Court (SSC) October 17 
refused, for the eighth consecutive time, a defense request 
for the release of four former MPs from the pro-Kurdish 
independence Democracy Party pending the outcome of their 
retrial on charges of membership in an illegal organization 
(the PKK).  The defendants -- Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan 
Dogan, and Selim Sadak -- were convicted in a controversial 
trial in 1994.  They later won their appeal to the ECHR, and 
were granted a retrial under recent EU-related GOT reforms. 
At each session of the retrial, which began March 28, the 
court has refused to release the defendants.  Poloff attended 
the October 17 session, as did representatives from the EU 
Turkey office, European embassies, international and domestic 
NGOs, and the Turkish Parliament. 
 
 
3. (U) Lead defense attorney Yusuf Alatas told the three SSC 
judges that his clients were entitled to a presumption of 
innocence in light of the ECHR appeal ruling in their favor, 
and argued that the court's refusal to release them 
constituted a violation of the ECHR ruling.  Cavit Torun, a 
member of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, told 
reporters during a break in the session that he agrees that 
the court's refusal to release the defendants violates the 
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. 
Defense attorney Hasip Kaplan averred in court that Turkey's 
SSC system is inconsistent with EU membership and contrary to 
the current trend of GOT human rights reform.  He called on 
the SSC to ask the Constitutional Court to abolish the SSC 
system.  The court did not respond. 
 
 
4. (U) During the hearing, the court read the testimony of 
jailed PKK militant Ejder Pacal, who claimed that Leyla Zana 
traveled to a PKK camp in Lebanon in 1991 and attended 
courses given by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.  Alatas 
challenged Pacal's testimony, arguing that the witness should 
have testified in court before the defendants rather than in 
prison, where attorneys were unable to cross examine him. 
Alatas further questioned Pacal's motives, claiming that 
Pacal had received an award from the government for his 
service as a witness.  Alatas noted that Pacal's original 
testimony, also taken in prison, was cited by the ECHR in its 
ruling that the defendants' first trial was unfair. 
 
 
5. (C) After the hearing, Sema Kilicer, political officer at 
the EU Ankara office, told us EU observers are highly 
critical of the SSC's conduct of the trial.  She said the 
trial will receive a brief, unfavorable mention in Turkey's 
EU Progress Report, to be released November 5. 
 
 
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Comment 
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6. (C) Our contacts continue to believe, as reported reftel, 
that the court will likely rule to convict the defendants 
after 1-3 more hearings.  Then defense will appeal, 
unsuccessfully.  In order to blunt the controversy, they 
predict, the court will sentence the defendants to time 
served, releasing them slightly before 2005, when their 
prison terms are set to expire. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDELMAN