Turkey: Children face up to 58 years in prison for protest

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Istanbul, 1 Dec. (AKI) – A prosecutor in southern Turkey on Monday charged six children for attacking police with stones in a recent street protest in support of Kurdish separatists. According to the news site of Hurriyet, the stone-throwing youths face up to 58 years in prison if they are convicted.

Six youths, aged from 13 to 16, are alleged to have participated in street demonstrations in the southern province of Adana in which nearly 100 protesters clashed with Turkish security forces in November.

The protesters claimed that Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was being mistreated in Imrali prison where he is serving a life sentence.

[Via AKI]

All six are charged with committing a crime on behalf of the terror organisation PKK.

In a similar incident earlier this month, a prosecutor in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir charged six children with attacking police with stones and Molotov cocktails, after they participated in street protests during Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit.

They are facing 23 years in prison if they are convicted.

The PKK’s goal is to create an independent, socialist Kurdish state in Kurdistan, a region that comprises parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran. The organisation is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the European Union.