Turkish court releases Kurdish party leader

29/04/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- A military court released on Monday (April 28th) the leader of the biggest pro-Kurdish party, who faces charges of issuing a phony report on his health to avoid conscription. Though his trial continues, authorities took Nurettin Demirtas, 35, to a barracks about 250km north of Ankara on Tuesday to begin military training. Since November, he has led the Democratic Society Party, which holds 20 seats in parliament and seeks autonomy for Turkey's southeastern, heavily Kurdish area. Demirtas spent years in prison for membership in the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party. (Anadolu news agency, AP - 29/04/08; Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet, AP - 28/04)