Court accepts indictment involving press members

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

An Istanbul court hearing the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trial accepted the case’s third indictment on May 11, under which 44 suspects, some of whom are journalists, are set to be tried.

Some 44 suspects, 36 of them arrested pending trial, are currently facing charges in the 800-page indictment which the court unanimously accepted yesterday. The suspects are charged with leading a terrorist organization, being a member of a terrorist organization, and being a member of the press committee of a terrorist organization. The suspects include daily Vatan reporter Çağdaş Ulus and daily Birgün reporter Zeynep Kuray.

The KCK is the alleged urban wing of the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Turkey. The case will be held between Sept. 10 and 14, 2012.Meanwhile, 22 people who were detained last week under a recent KCK operation in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa were formally arrested on May 11.