In the retrial against five people who were part of the organizing committee for the Newroz celebrations in Amed in 2016, 5 people were sentenced to 5 months each and one to an additional 6 years and 3 months in prison.
The final hearing of the five members of Amed (Diyarbakır) Newroz Organizing Committee in 2016 was held at Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No 4 on Tuesday.
The defendants, Hafize İpek, Ramazan Kaval, Abdulgani Alakan, Hüsnü Pervane and Mahmut Çiftçi, were sentenced to 5 months each for “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations”. Hafize İpek and Abdulgani Alakan's sentences were not suspended.
Ramazan Kaval was sentenced to an additional 6 years and 3 months in prison for “membership in an illegal organization”, meaning the PKK.
The case was filed after the Newroz celebrations in 2016, and the committee members were charged with “membership in an illegal organization”, “making propaganda for an illegal organization” and “organizing an illegal assembly”.
They were acquitted in the first trial, but the Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ordered the case to be retried.
