High court rejects demand for defense in Kurdish as suspect knows TurkishPenal Department no 9 of the Supreme Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a suspect's objection that he made on grounds that his "defense was restricted". DIYARBAKIR- The penal department concluded examination of the case against suspect Suphan Delen, who was sentenced to 18.6 years in prison on charges of being "a member of an illegal organization" and "carrying explosive devices" by High Criminal Court in southeastern province of Diyarbakir. Delen's demand for making defense in Kurdish was rejected as he knew Turkish language. The Supreme Court Penal Department said the right to use an interpreter under the European Convention on Human Rights and Code of Penal Procedure (CMUK) would be necessary when the court did not understand the language used by the accused. The Penal Department said within the scope of the file, the accused was a Turkish national, born in Turkey and educated in Turkish language. It said Delen gave his testimony in Turkish, and did not have any problem with understanding and speaking Turkish language. Penal Department no 9 decided to approve the judgement of 18.6 years in prison for Delen. 10 August 2011
|
|