Result Of Appeal Hearing On Dep Case To Be Announced Tomorrow

ANKARA (CIHAN) - The final appeal verdict on the ex-Mps of the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party will be announced tomorrow.
The 9th District Penal Court of the Turkish Supreme Court will release its decision tomorrow regarding the appeal from the ex-MPs of the DEP.
If the 9th District Penal Court overturns the verdict of the Ankara No. 1 State Security Court's decision on ex-lawmakers, the DEP's ex-deputies will be retried in the new Ankara 11th Heavy Crime Court.
If the 9th District Penal Court ratifies the verdict, then the ex-MPs can ask an upper court to correct the verdict. The issue will be brought before the Turkish Supreme Court Justice General Committee that will have the final word on the long-standing case.
The 9th District Penal Court last week held an appeal hearing on the conviction of the ex-MPs of the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP): Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan. The appeal hearing has been adjourned until July 14th.
The lawyer of the ex-MPs, Yusuf Alatas asked the 9th District Penal Court to overturn the verdict of the Ankara No. 1 State Security Court.
The Ankara No. 1 State Security Court's (DGM), now disbanded, had sentenced Leyla Zana and the others to 15-year jail terms in 1994 for endangering national security and participating in illegal pro-Kurdish separatist activities. However, the European Court of Human Right subsequently rejected the verdict and requested the retrial of the former DEP MPs.
In April, the Ankara No 1 DGM had rejected a demand for the release of the former deputies confirming the original verdict.
Early last month, the Turkish Supreme Court of Justice 9th District Penal Court, overturned the verdict and ordered the release of the 4 ex-MPs.
Three of the ex-MPs were to serve sentences until March 2, 2005 while one other was to remain in prison until October 1, 2005.
The former DEP deputies were elected to parliament in the 1991. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) cancelled their parliamentary membership in the same year, however, because of pro-Kurdish sympathies expressed at the oath-taking ceremony in the TGNA.