ANKARA (CIHAN) - The 9th District Penal Court of the Turkish Supreme Court overturned the verdict of the Ankara State Security on the ex-MPs of the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) on Wednesday.
The 9th District Penal Court of the Turkish Supreme Court released its decision today regarding the appeal from the ex-MPs of the DEP.
The 9th District Penal Court quashed the verdict of the Ankara No: 1 State Security Court which had ratified the jail sentence of the former DEP deputies. The new verdict paves the way for a retrial of the ex-lawmakers.
The DEP`s ex-deputies will now be retried in the new Ankara 11th Heavy Crime Court.
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, however, 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.