Spiegel Online, Germany
May 13 2005

Ocalan Trial: the Sequel

It’s not easy for Turkey nowadays, as it tries to prove itself
saintly enough to get into the EU: the country’s honor is being
insulted left, right and center. After the Armenian question and
concern over the treatment of Turks in Cyprus, now this —
Nationalists are in uproar over the perceived attack on Turkey’s
judicial honor by the European Court of Human Rights.

The court has called for a re-trial on the case of Abdullah Ocalan,
the head of the Kurdish Workers party (PKK). He was initially
condemned to death for treason in 1999 before his sentence was
commuted to life imprisonment three years later.

The Strasbourg court says that the presence of a military prosecutor
at his trial and eight days in solitary confinement before the trial
are in breach of the European conventions that Turkey has signed.
Most of the procedural human rights abuses, however, have already
been amended as part of the overall reform process to make Turkey
EU-ready.

Anticipating a rebuke, the nationalists were tetchy even before the
decision was made. Maybe that’s why they failed to notice that the
court’s ruling was actually extremely lenient on Turkey.

Ocalan had actually petitioned for the entire trial to be declared
illegal because he was kidnapped in Kenya and brought to Turkey for
the trial. His complaint of discrimination because he is a Kurd was
likewise rejected by the court.

The Turkish government has indicated its acceptance of the court
decision and attempted to soothe nationalist pride. Justice Minister
Cemil Cicek said , “Trust the state and its institutions. Turkey has
already mastered many difficulties and hindrances on the way to
Europe with prudence and a healthy dose of common sense.” The
subtext: Ocalan ain’t going nowhere. (12:35 p.m. CET)