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Turkish colonel goes on trial over killing of Kurdish separatists
Sep 11, 2009, 11:40 GMT
Istanbul - A colonel in the Turkish paramilitary police went on trial Friday over the killing of supporters of the banned Kurdish separatist Kurdish Workers' Part (PKK) in the 1990s, local media reported.
Cemal Temizoz was arrested in March on the basis of confidential evidence linking him with deaths of around 20 Kurds found dead after being questioned by the security services.
He appeared in a court in Diyarbakir, the regional capital of the Kurdish area, on Friday charged with murder and belonging to an criminal gang. Heavy security measures were in place around the court.
Six other men are also charged with the deaths, which occurred between 1993 and 1997.
The Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently signalled it is willing to extend rights for the minority Kurdish population, after 25 years of conflict with armed Kurdish separatists wanting a homeland in the east of Turkey.
The prosecution has called for a life sentence for Temizoz, if found guilty.
At least 35,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to the Turkish army.
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