Kurdistan Communities Union

Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council on Tuesday banned the activities of three parties for links with the terrorist PKK group.

In a statement, the council outlawed the "Ezidi Freedom and Democracy" party, the "Democratic Struggle Front" and the "Kurdistan Community Freedom" party, and ordered confiscation of their properties.

A rally marking the third anniversary of the failed coup attempt in Istanbul, Turkey, 15 July 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

"We invite the authorities to adhere to national and universal legal regulations and to comply with human rights rules in their investigations and prosecutions," MAZLUMDER said in a statement.

A Turkish court on Tuesday jailed the chief editor of an opposition TV channel pending trial on a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a rally as part of Nowruz (Newroz), or Kurdish New Year, celebrations in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 21 March 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Sept. 27 dismissed a complaint filed by the PKK's imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

A Turkish court ruled on June 21 to keep the local chair of Amnesty International in jail as his trial on terror charges continues, the group said, extending a year-long detention.

A court has adjourned for four months the trial of 10 academics who signed a letter to the Turkish government last year calling for peace.

Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has sought to adapt the group's ideology in order to secure foreign support, according to journalist Fikret Bila, the editor-in-chief of daily Hürriyet. 

In the indictment I am charged with "helping an armed terrorist organization while not being a member."

The first specific accusation is that I have communicated with 92 suspicious individuals who use ByLock and with 21 people who are under investigation for ties to the FETÖ/PDY (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure) terror organization.