Ankara court orders seizure of fugitive Kurds’ assets

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

An Ankara court yesterday ordered the confiscation of all assets in Turkey of 31 defendants, among them prominent Kurdish figures linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on grounds the defendants had failed to show up at hearings.

The order covered former deputies Zübeyir Aydar and Remzi Kartal as well as Kurdish activists Yaşar Kaya and Nejdet Buldan, who all fled to Europe in the 1990s and are known to have joined PKK networks. Aydar was part of the PKK team whose secret talks with Turkish intelligence officials were leaked to the media last year.

‘Parliament-in-exile’

The court ruled the defendants’ assets should be frozen and confiscated but not sold or handed over, as a measure to compel them to appear in court.

The 31 suspects, who have been put on trial in absentia, are charged with responsibility for the activities of the so-called “Kurdish Parliament-in-exile” and the “Kurdistan National Congress” in European countries. Both groups are closely affiliated with the PKK. They risk up to 15 years in jail for “establishing and managing an armed organization.”

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the united States and the EU. k HDN