Ocalan trial found unfair by European human rights court News
Ocalan trial found unfair by European human rights court

[JURIST] The appellate body of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled Thursday that the Turkish trial [BBC backgrounder] of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan [official website] was unfair [ECHR press release], stating that Ocalan was not tried in front of an independent and impartial court. Turkey said it would address the trial's flaws and push for a retrial. Ocalan, convicted in 1999 for treason and blamed for the deaths of some 30,000 people during the 15-year war between his PKK [party website, English version] group and Turkish security forces, had been sentenced to life in prison after Turkey abolished the death penalty as part of its entry into the EU. The ECHR lower court had previously ruled that Ocalan's first trial was also unfair [JURIST report]. Real the full text [DOC] of Thursday's judgment in Ocalan v. Turkey. BBC News has more.

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