Seven lawyers of the jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan were released following the fifth hearing of the so-called KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) case which took place at Istanbul 16th High Penalty Court in Silivri on Thursday.

50 defendants, among whom one journalist and 22 lawyers acting for the Kurdish leader have been under arrest since the KCK operation on 22 December 2011, have been tried in the scope of the second KCK case. The lawyers are accused of "being members or executives of an illegal organization" in connection with the meetings they had with their client Öcalan, allegedly providing communication between the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and its leader Öcalan.

The names of the lawyers released yesterday are Mehmet Deniz Büyük, Serkan Akbaş, Servet Demir, Mehmet Ayata, Şakir Demir, Mizgin Irgat and Mensur Işık.

The hearing was adjourned to 17 September 2013.