Court demands prison sentence of 142 years for PKK member

VAN - Doğan News Agency

A legal case filed against alleged outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) member Muhammet Hüseyin Hasan in Van’s third Court for Serious Crimes demanded a sentence of aggravated life imprisonment with an additional prison sentence of 142 years. 

Hasan, an Iraqi, allegedly kidnapped police officer Nadir Özgen from the Çatak Police Department and once served as a security guard for Murat Karayılan, one of the leading figures within the PKK. An inquiry started by the Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against three PKK members and one person believed to have aided them has been finalized and an indictment was issued in regards to the inquiry. Van’s third Court for Serious Crimes approved the 11-page indictment issued about the inquiry and opened a legal case against the three PKK members, which include Iranians Muhammed Ersen, Mehmet Şükrü Özkan along with Hasan as well as Halit Sancar, who is suspected of aiding them as a driver. The suspects were arrested in Van on November 1, 2011, while entering the city for a demonstration in a vehicle laden with weapons and explosives. 

The indictment demanded aggravated life imprisonment and an additional prison sentence of 142 years for Hasan, on the charges of organizing an armed attack against the Çatak Police Department on July 13, 2011; kidnapping police officer Nadir Özgen from Çatak Police Department on September 7, 2011; leading a terrorist organization, and having explosives and weapons. It also demanded an 85-year-long prison sentence for Özkan, a 70-year-long sentence for Ersen and a 15-year sentence for Sancar on the charge of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.

The indictment also included information on the activities of PKK members in charge of factions within the organization. It stated that Hasan, who is reportedly in charge of a PKK outfit in the Çatak region, joined the PKK in 1993 and guarded Karayılan for a while.