Ocalan to be tried on May 31

The state security court in Ankara specified the date of May 31, 1999 for the beginning of the trial of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistani Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey under charges of high treason.

The prosecution office demanded his execution for the crimes of which he is accused, which include harming the unity of Turkish lands and leading the prohibited separatist organization accused of killing more than 30,000 Turks during the past 15 years.

An official Turkish press statement released said today that the decision of the court came after an urgent session held in Ankara, deciding that Ocalan's trial would be held on the Turkish Amrali Island in the Marmara Sea, where he has been detained since he was arrested in Kenya then returned him to Turkey in the middle of February.

Moreover in its session, which Ocalan did not attend although his lawyers participated, the court approved the addition of sub-issues to the file of the main issue with which Ocalan is accused so as to treat them as one issue.