Hammer-and-sickle badge held as evidence in terror case in Turkey

CNNTurk.com

A hammer-and-sickle badge was held as evidence of terrorist organization membership.

An Ankara prosecutor has demanded that three suspects serve 15 to 80 years in prison for spreading "illegal propaganda by chanting slogans" and membership in a terrorist organization on the basis of evidence that includes possession of hammer-and-sickle badges.

Sixteen people were detained after they participated in May Day celebrations in the northern Anatolian province of Çorum in 2011 for chanting illegal slogans and being members of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), which is recognized as a terrorist organization.
 
The prosecutor's indictment also said it was a crime to attend a commemoration ceremony held for iconic Turkish revolutionaries Deniz Gezmiş and Mahir Çayan, saying the suspects committed the crime of "praising a crime and a criminal."
 
Police searched the suspects' homes, finding posters of Gezmiş and Çayan as well as a badge with a hammer-and-sickle emblem on it. The three items – along with a written list of slogans and a number of magazines that allegedly praised the DHKP/C's actions – were added to the indictment to support claims of membership in a terrorist organization.
 
The prosecutor demanded a total of 35 years for Umut Şener and Gözde Erdal for "membership in the DHKP/C" and "propagating the organization four times," and demanded 80 years for Halil Top for membership in the DHKP/C and "propagating the organization 13 times." The remaining 13 suspects face various prison terms for membership in a terrorist organization and spreading propaganda.
 
Gezmiş was a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary in the late 1960s who was hanged on May 6, 1972, on charges of "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order."
 
Çayan, a revolutionary like Gezmiş, was killed on March 30, 1972, in an armed clash with Turkish security forces. 
 
Gezmiş became a rallying figure for the Turkish left after his death, and posters of his likeness became a common sight at protest rallies. In the late 1990s, Gezmiş' likeness entered everyday life, as various clothes and accessories bearing a picture of his face gained popularity in a way comparable to the popularity of Ché Guevara.  

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