Tomorrow lawyer Þiar Riþvanoðlu will appear before the Special Authority 6th High Criminal Court of Adana (eastern Mediterranean). Riþvanoðlu is under trial for an interview he gave to RojTV (the Kurdish satellite television). In his speech to RojTV, on 3 May, the lawyer stated that "a commission has to be required to confidentially investigate all political murders in Kurdistan, all conspiracies, the massacres of the Botaþ death wells, mass murders and rapes". Immediately a case was opened against the lawyer who had dared to use the term "Kurdistan", among other things. The first hearing was on 16 September.

Prosecutor Mehmet Düzgün stated that Riþvanoðlu also called imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan the "leader of the Kurds". The prosecutor demanded a three count sentence according to Article 220 of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK) under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK or the organization's aims". Riþvanoðlu is facing imprisonment of up to 13.5 years.

The lawyer is expected to present his defence tomorrow. In addition the Ministry of the Interior opened another case against the lawyer, claiming TL 10,000 (approx. € 5,000) in compensation by reason of "harming honour and dignity with the press release".

Riþvanoðlu is one of the founders of the Revolutionary Labour Party. The lawyer ran for office of the Adana Metropolitan Mayor in 2009 as a joint left-wing candidate. Before that, he was chairing the Adana Branch of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD). Currently, he is one of the joint lawyers in the Hrant Dink murder case.